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"I will follow you wherever you go," he told Jesus. I wonder if he pre-contemplated what Jesus would possibly say in response to him. Was he confident that Jesus would say "come, follow me" or was he nervous? Was he bursting with excitement or was he slightly anxious about what such a bold commitment would mean? Was he hoping that Jesus would lead him to amazing places, or was he fearful that following Jesus would take him to places he did not want to go? Was he authentic or was he just trying to put on a show? All I know is that I have said the same thing to Jesus, offering to follow him wherever he may lead, and I have felt all of those emotions. No matter what the man felt when he approached Jesus with this statement, I bet he was not expecting the response that Jesus gave him. "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." (Matthew 18:20) The invitation to follow Jesus already existed f...

"Just wait until you see this!" my mom said as she lifted the trunk and pulled out a bright orange, vintage golf bag that looked like it came right out of the 70's. Actually, it did. I just did the math. My mom took one golf class in college, which automatically qualifies her to teach me to play, right? "This is the best idea we've ever had!" I exclaimed as we walked onto the first tee-off. After a three-minute lesson, I was ready to go like a pro. We dug out an old, yellowed golf ball from the bag, and we found some splintered, half-disintegrated tees in a pocket, too. My mom took a big swing and landed her golf ball about forty feet away and already off the course. We both doubled over laughing, gasping to breathe. After my abs recovered from that, I moved the tee up to the closest edge, hoping I could make it farther than mom. Just a few feet away from me, the course started to roll down into a small pond. I took my first swing and whiffed it just...

Black-out curtains, extra strong coffee, breakfast for dinner, and fast-food carry out at 1:30 am. These are the joys of night shift. I have never stayed up all night in my whole life...not until last week when I started working nights. It has been an adjustment to say the least, and an adventurous one at that. This little I-need-at-least-eight-hours-of-sleep nurse has been having a hard time knowing what day it is, what time it is, and whether I should be awake or asleep. I quickly discovered that when I have a patient to care for, I do not have a problem staying awake and alert at all - even in the middle of the night. It is when the rooms are empty, the halls are quiet, and I have nothing to do that my eyes start to get heavy. That's when I practice creative ways to stay awake: a meal at 1:00 am, a strong cup of coffee at 2:00, spicy cheetos and a game of cards at 3:00. All these experiences and adjustments have made me love Psalm 121:4 which says, "He who watches ove...

He lived in the graveyard. "Among the tombs," the Bible says in Matthew 8. He would cry out all day and all night long. He cut himself until he bled. People tried to chain him up for obvious reasons. This guy sounds terrifying and absolutely insane, but he was also so strong that he could literally break the chains off. So people kept trying to chain and restrain him. Except Jesus. Jesus set Him free. After falling at Jesus' feet in submission, the demons that occupied this man were forced to flee at the command of Christ. Suddenly, the tomb-dwelling, self-cutting, chain-breaking man was sitting upright, dressed, and in his right mind. The screams that the villagers heard throughout the day and night ceased. The people no longer had to worry about this crazy man who lived among the tombs. They didn't need to chain him up to protect themselves, their families, and their children from him anymore. You would think that the people of the village would be thankful to...

The first time I read "To Kill A Mockingbird" in high school, I really didn't like it. Maybe I was too young to completely understand it's meaning and significance, or maybe I was just bitter because it was a required reading. However, I have since then rediscovered the story, and now I love it. I thought to myself, Was this the same book I read back then? Why did I despise it so much then when I love it so much now?  I think the same thing about the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the Bible. I used to think of them as sad, sad stories about God's anger being poured out on Israel and the nations that despised Him. The past two weeks, I have re-read the stories and rediscovered something quite miraculous: they aren't sad stories; they are love stories! I used to read them and only see God's anger and punishment. I wondered how to justify the "good" God that I know with this wrathful, vengeful God that is portrayed in the prophecies of Jeremiah ...

On the way home from work, I couldn't stop thinking about the events of that day. I kept running through the day in head, analyzing everything that I observed and thinking about what I would have done if I had been in the nurse in that situation. It was an emergency situation that ended up just fine - the mother and baby would both be okay. Still, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about it. It's okay, just let it go. I told myself as I drove home. Keep work at work, and now let your mind relax. But I found myself running through the events in my head again as I was cooking dinner. Stop it! You have thought about this enough. Everything is okay now, so think about something else! When my roommate asked about my day, I told her about the emergency event and how I still couldn't get it off my mind. Why is this bothering me so much? I finally asked myself. Then I realized that this was my last week of orientation on day shift before I move to working nights. After...

Check out the Eating Disorders Hope page. They so graciously shared my story this week and are doing great work to encourage and offer hope to people with eating disorders!

I was driving to Searcy for homecoming weekend when I realized that I had made no plans. Only a few miles outside Searcy, it hit me when my mom asked me over the phone, "Who are you going to stay with?" because I had absolutely no idea. I remembered something a friend had shared with me earlier in the week. Every morning, she wakes up and spends five minutes asking God what His to-do list is for the day. "It is hard because my own to-do list automatically rushes into my head," she confessed. But she listens closely, and she has some pretty cool stories of where God takes her and who she meets along the way. She inspired me, so I decided to give her challange a try. Lord, this weekend is in your hands. What is your to-do list? Show me where to go and what to do...because my schedule is completely and entirely free. With no agenda, I pulled into a parking lot on campus just in time for a friend to text me and invite me to her room. I spent a couple of ...