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A special thank you to Anna Strock for creating this video  and to Kellum Tate, Meghan Przeczewski, and Allison Park for taking the pictures in it.  Lyrics to "Sometimes" by David Crowder  Sometimes every one of us fears Like we'll never be healed Sometimes every one of us aches Like we'll never be saved Sometimes When we've given up let your healing come When there's nothing left let your healing come Where you go we will follow It's your love that we adore It's like a sea without a shore We're lost in you We're lost in you Sometimes It's like we never loved home for all the love we know Sometimes like in a smile of a song when you feel it come then that feelings gone It flies It's your love that we adore It's like a sea without a shore Don't be afraid Don't be afraid Just set your sail and risk the ocean Show me grace Risk the ocean Show me grace Where you go we will follow ...

About a year ago, I started praying a certain prayer. "Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours." Well, I learned that you have to be careful what you pray for. Because of this, I have ended up with quite a few heartbreaks over the course of this past year. God has opened my heart to feel some of the suffering of His people and of His world. One such occasion happened just this week as a friend of mine was pouring out her heart to me about significant hurt in her life. As she cried out and shared her story, my heart broke. And for some reason - I didn't know why - I suddenly felt like I was back in Africa. It wasn't because her story reminded me of Africa; it was because of the way my heart felt. It was the same heaviness of heart that I sensed when I cradled sick babies and when I held the hand of a dying patient. It felt like a breaking heart. In Africa, this sadness of heart brought me to my knees before God. In those moments, I would have to get away for...

I knew that something had to change - that something had to be different - when I felt like buying a guitar had become my world's greatest investment. After seeking advice from two different friends who knew the ins and outs of guitars, I came up with a list of must-haves for my new purchase. On paper, it looked nice, but when it actually came to finding the right one, I quickly became overwhelmed. It had to be a good brand, but not too professional and expensive, nor too cheap. It needed this kind of top and that kind of strings. It needed to be affordable and preferrably used, but not dinged up. It would be great if it came with a case, but only a hard one and not a soft one. If it was going to be acoustic-electric, it needed a certain sound when it is plugged in. And of course it had to pretty and sound good to me when I played it. We looked on Craigslist in Nashville, only to discover that you were lucky to find a single guitar that met all of the qualit...

Presence. I write the word on a sticky note and stick it to my new desk in my new dorm at the beginning of a new school year. I also write it on my heart as I realize the depth of its meaning for me. As "nerdy" as it might be, I tend to create themes for the different seasons of my life. So right now, as I begin my senior year and last year at Harding, the word "presence" seems to sum up my spiritual theme. I am at a point in my relationship with the Lord where I am desiring His presence more than anything else. Psalm 84 is one of my favorite Scriptures right now because of how it speaks of the majesty and weighty worth of God's presence: "Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." I am also learning that God's presence is constant, continual. I have always known that God is always with me, but I am recently learning that I can a...

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ." She took and deep breath and continued. "Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." For several minutes, she kept going, listing the ways that God has blessed us richly in Him. She prayed Paul's prayer to know God more and more. She spoke of God's saving grace that intervened when we were still dead in our sins, and she said that God resurrected us with Christ and gave us a seat with Him in heaven. As we kept driving down the road, I listened as she explained how the Gentiles are no longer separated from Christ, but included as heirs with Israel because of what God has done. Chapter 1. Then chapter 2. Moving on to chapter 3. "I am kind of rough on this part, so you may h...

Four years of intense training and it all comes down to this moment. Less than ten seconds to show the whole world if you have what it takes. Although every person has set their eyes on the prize, only one person walks away with the gold. After the race, they interview the winner, who usually has a flag around his neck, sweat sparkling on his head, and a huge smile on his face. Still panting, he usually says something like, "This means everything to me..." or "This is the one thing I have been wanting so bad for so long..." It is true: they have worked relentlessly through countless hours to achieve this prize, to attain this goal. This race has become the focus of their entire world. I hear them speak into the microphone their ten-second line to go along with their victory. "This is all I've ever wanted..." "I am so proud..." "This is the most unbelievable feeling in the world..." And I think to myself, wow, that's epic -...

It was 10:05 and lights-out was scheduled at 10:10. "Hurry, hurry! Come on, girls! I need all teeth brushed and everyone in their bunks by the time I get in there- that's only five minutes!" I hurried to finish getting ready for bed myself and then flipped out the lights in the cabin at exactly 10:10. After an exciting day at camp (and an ice cream snack about thirty minutes ago), all fourteen of my ten-year-old campers were wired and certainly not ready to go to sleep. They took turns borrowing my flashlight in order to get completely situated, giggling girlishly as they looked for granddaddy long-legs in their sheets and dusted dirt off their stuffed animals. I sat down in the middle of the floor where they could all see me with the light of the one small flashlight. "Is it time for our bedtime story?" one girl asked as the rest suddenly quieted down to give me their attention. "Yes, but tonight our cabin devotional is going to be a little different...