Tag: life

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More Abundantly

For me, this is the verse that’s summed up this week: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20). At this time last year, I was just starting to feel like myself again after many months. At this time last year, I wasn’t writing at all. Around this time last year, God planted the seed of an idea which is now a business, Your Life with the King. God has done far more abundantly than all that I could ever ask or think!

Soul Crushing

In my journey prior to this, I would describe my soul as having been crushed, as much as I had tried to avoid it. I was living in a way that I felt trapped; my energy was never replenished, and I spent my time working on things I didn’t care about. I didn’t see a way out of it, and my inspiration to write or make art was gone. I had taken big hits spiritually and emotionally and became physically sick. Something had to change. It took time to become clear how, but God gave me a way to walk toward the life He had for me. He never leaves us trapped.

Transformation doesn’t often come without being crushed. We may call it different things, like being broken, being poured out, or being at rock bottom. But God is able to use it for our ultimate good because in our crushed state we are open enough to let Him into our hearts. Jesus Himself was “crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5); yet it was for all of our ultimate good. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). In our brokenness, we are open to receive the love that Jesus poured out for us and our healing.

Yes, being crushed is painful. But God’s healing comes in the transformation and we are offered freedom in Jesus. Being crushed isn’t easy but it is worth it, I can now say from the other side. We can trust that no matter how painful this life gets, God has it all, sees us fully, and cares for each one of us more than we could imagine. God is a Good Father who is excited to do more in our lives by way of freedom, abundant blessing, and grace. The crushing is often a necessary part of the journey there.

Expect Good Things

When we are discouraged from being crushed in life, it can be hard to expect God’s goodness to follow. Knowing God’s character and pressing into relationship with Him and what He promises in Scripture is a lifeline in these times of brokenness. “It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever; (Psalm 136:23). God’s love endures, even and especially into the “low estate” times in our lives.

I can struggle with expecting the worst outcome, even though God has shown me the opposite is True, over and over. God wants us to expect His goodness to show up in our lives, to “believe that [we] shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13)! I am encouraging myself as I encourage you to expect good things, and to expect that God will fulfill His promises to you. Even when I get in my own way of accepting God’s amazing abundance in life, He is bigger than that too; “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). God is Truly for us, more than we are for ourselves.

Paul wrote from prison, “. . . it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). Even when our present circumstances seem anything but good, we can expect God to reveal His goodness and fulfill His promises. We can expect God is trustworthy and True.

He is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, and we can expect that He will. To God be all the glory! Amen.


“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Introducing: Your Life with the King

I am so excited to officially announce a new branch of the Life with the King family, Your Life with the King. It is finally ready to share with you, after many months of prayer and preparation. I’m starting a business that helps people tell their life story. More on that in a moment.

Now looking back, Your Life with the King seems like the natural progression from what this blog originally started as back in 2019, a way to tell my own story in hopes that it would help others. But it wasn’t so clear to me at first. It started with a request from a longtime friend. Would I help her to video record her story for her kids to watch one day? Something special happened when I considered it; I experienced a sense of knowing and peace and energy. Ideas came flying into my mind as if they’d been placed there, in fact, much like the feeling I got when I knew I needed to start this blog. I knew I had to write it all down. This didn’t seem like a passing fantasy but instead, something God was telling me to follow Him into.

Still, it took months for me to make sure it wasn’t from me. I needed to be sure God wanted me to see the idea through. I prayed and thought about it. I tried to ignore it for a while to see what would happen. The idea came back, over and over. I talked to my sister about it, and she told me to keep seeking the Lord. If He was behind it, she was all in. Wait on the Lord. So I waited. Maybe this was something I was only supposed to consider for my friend.

Meanwhile, I felt more and more strongly over the months that I needed to create something new in the world. I didn’t want to try to align myself with an agenda or a vision statement created by someone else. I knew I needed to do something that aligned with what God gifted me in, something with writing, something that helps people, and something with meaning. Anything else, and it’d just be a fleeting dream that I’d abandon. I got a nagging feeling that I had wide gaps in resources. Then, without much effort on my part at all, I found a helpful class, and a webinar, and then a seminar. Suddenly I went from no support to all the support I needed in every area. I began to be reassured by the Lord. I began to have peace. The ideas aligned with the resources I now had. I soon felt a readiness, a drive forward. God gave me the green light.

So I bought the domain, I registered with the state, set up the accounts, and today I am thrilled to announce Your Life with the King is open for business!

When I couldn’t go on in my 9-5 anymore in 2024, I knew I had a long way to go. It would take a huge change to start living in a way I could thrive. I had no idea what that would look like at that time, as I wrote about in my blog post, Jesus’ Kingdom vs. my kingdom. I didn’t feel like there was a way out. But God. God always provides. He provides us with what we need to live fully and freely; to bring our gifts and talents to the people that need and appreciate them. I just had to be willing to take the leap. So today, I’m leaping.

About the business side of things, Your Life with the King provides a way for me to help you, your family, and friends, to record your legacy on video. In my mind, video is the next iteration of the book; video is the medium that future generations will gravitate to to hear stories. The Lord commands us as followers, “Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done, so that people not yet born will praise Him” (Psalm 102:18 GNT). Your Life with the King makes that easy for you, and for the next generation as well. Each one of our stories is important and worth telling and knowing; I’m excited to help people do that! If you’re an entrepreneur, I want to help you record the story of the purpose behind your business and what drives you. If you’re a parent, I want to help you record your experiences, background, and faith stories for your family. If you’re a person who hasn’t told your life story yet, I’d love to help you do that.

As an academic at heart, I thoroughly research people, events, and experiences in people’s lives as a interviewer. I’ll then thoughtfully choose questions to help your stories shine. As a client of mine, you won’t have to perfectly choose every word as if you were writing the stories all on your own. I’ll expertly guide you through the process, using oral history research guidelines, previous podcast production experience, and the care of a compassionate listener. My interviews and the way I prepare and set you up will allow you to feel safe and supported as you speak about your life and experiences.

Now I can confidently say that I have been through many experiences in my life, and trust that I can draw out the best of my clients during conversations with empathy and safety. There is no story too scandalous, no person too broken. I welcome all to tell their stories. We need them. The next generations need them. We need to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Your Life with the King is an avenue that the Lord has given me to help see that vision through. It’s also the way that I now feel led by God to obey the command to “write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done” (Psalm 102:18).

I’ve written what God has done in my own life on the Life with the King blog for nearly 7 years. Now it’s your turn. Come over the Your Life with the King and share your story.

Grace and Peace.

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog.

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All About Trust

Especially in this new season of big changes for the better, I’m running into a continued, daily confrontation: trusting God. I’ve touched on trust in Connection to Jesus and Do You Still Trust Me?, but I want to dive even deeper today. The side effects of not fully trusting God for safety, acceptance, or power to fend for myself if/when needed got me into the biggest rut yet in my life. It got to the point where I wasn’t able to be present or enjoy anything because I was constantly on alert for the next threatening thing. Without actively trusting God, I chronically expected to have to defend myself at all times. It left me paralyzed, sometimes literally.

Being in this state of mind is not healthy for any human being. I wouldn’t want anyone to experience such an underlying sense of fear. I can say from experience that the only thing that Truly, with a capital “T,” counteracts that fear is trusting Jesus. Not just saying we trust, but actively turning from the direction we’re heading, and trusting Jesus.

We are commanded, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). God doesn’t demand this because He wants dominance, but because it is actually the best thing for our well-being. While He is Sovereign and does have power over us, He wants real, loving relationship with us. Only God can strike that balance well with us because He will never use His power to our detriment. God is worthy of our trust.

The topic of trust is timely for me once again because I’m about to embark on a new adventure in my life, which I’ll be announcing here at midnight next Thursday. (Don’t miss it!) God is doing big things! But in being given and entrusted with new things to steward, God is now requiring a new level of trust in Him from me. There’s no way I can do what I’ve been given if I can’t trust Him well.

Trusting God well is something I simply couldn’t do until very recently. In these last 2.5 years, God has used difficulties to transform my heart. I now see that I needed to be broken in new ways in order to give the Lord room to make way for deeper trust in Him. I needed to be transformed before I could be entrusted with what the Lord wanted to give me; what He’s now given me. He didn’t force the change, He patiently waited until the right time and gave me an ability to trust Him in ways I hadn’t before. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). His timing is always perfect!

Part of my battle with control was wanting things to happen NOW, to be done now, to be realized now. I spent a lot of time and energy trying to make things happen that I now can see I wasn’t ready for. I couldn’t handle the things I wanted if I couldn’t trust God well.

God is a Good Father, and He doesn’t lay unfit burdens on us (Matthew 11:29). He knows us fully and intimately, He knows what He’s made us for and what we are ready for. Rest assured friends, He is working in you and that whatever He has for you to do next, He will bring it about at the right time.

When we trust Him with our lives, He’ll make sure we’re ready for whatever may come. May we trust the Lord, today and every day. Amen.

“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Led by the Spirit

Here in the middle of winter, there has been a shift in spiritual seasons, at least for me. I had been in a season of waiting, of resting, and of stillness. That season was humbling, and at times frustrating. In Isaiah, it says, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). I’d been so conditioned to work and make things happen, that being out of action felt wrong. But it was exactly what God was calling me to. I learned obedience, and to submit to His will instead of mine. It became clear that I needed that season of rest and to wait for the strength of God to be behind what I did in and with my life. I learned in this last season to wait for leading from God before jumping into anything new.

To wait on God requires seeking God and His will, all the time. For me this was also a frustrating process to learn, as it seemed so incredibly mysterious and too “woo-woo” to be practical in everyday life. But I just needed to surrender to get out of my own way and believe the truth, that God really does communicate, all the time! God’s Word says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). That’s a promise!

We see an amazing example of this in Acts 13, when the church where Paul (Hebrew name Saul) was worshipping in Antioch was all fasting together. While they were seeking the Lord in worship, the Holy Spirit spoke to them and told them what they were to do next. “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them‘” (Acts 13:2). After obeying this command, the next time the Holy Spirit is mentioned, He empowers Paul to speak boldly, leading to a miracle (Acts 13:11) that stopped evil influence (Acts 13:8) on a man of intelligence (Acts 13:7) in the region, and his subsequent belief in the gospel (Acts 13:12). Paul’s words and actions were led. They weren’t done on his own strength, or just because he in himself felt ready to go. He was sent by the Holy Spirit, given God’s strength to take the actions he was sent to take.

While God may not speak audibly all that often, He speaks, leads, and sends people today in many ways. He’ll also speak to us if and when we’ve taken a wrong turn. Wrong turns are okay, as long as we are listening to Him! God won’t stop letting you know what’s right and in His will for you. He always makes a way for us to come back to Him.

I’m entering a new season where God is sending me in a new direction, and I’m excited to be able to share the details with you very soon! For now, I want to share that God has graciously given me new work to do, and in this new season I’ll be doing my best to steward it well and according to His leading. Friends, I would appreciate your prayers as God is leading my life in a new direction, that I would lean on God’s strength, continue to wait on Him even in the middle of the work, and allow myself to be led by the Spirit through it all.

I encourage us all to surrender it all to God, today and every day. The Spirit is eager and longing to lead us in God’s unique and beautiful purpose for our lives. May we let Him lead us as the King of our hearts. Seek Him and you will see miracles! Let your faith in God’s leading shine, and may He will do His will through you. Amen.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).

“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“. . .’ (Acts 2:38).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Doing Justice

There are many cries for justice in 2026, many hateful governments, groups, ideologies, and -isms in the world today. As hateful events happen closer to where we live, we feel anger, frustration, and perhaps even sometimes conflicted about the reassurances of the Bible, such as “…do not be afraid” (Mark 6:50). In high school, I participated in a protest against the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. That was my first real taste of the efforts for justice on an international scale. The situation was horrific, and yet as a teenager it felt far enough away to not feel threatened that the same would happen at home.

Since then, genocide that did stop 20 years ago in Sudan has recently resurfaced. I felt unsettled because I knew that the underlying problem of hate was not replaced with love. Hearts were not changed. Those protests and efforts that lasted a little while didn’t result in lasting peace. This same pattern tragically continues in many places in the world. So, what do we do when we realize that human interventions prove unsuccessful to stop acts of hate in the long term?

We can easily feel powerless to stop hate. There are hateful things even in our own circles of friends and family members that we can’t change. Jesus promised that those who believed in Him would be hated, “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). That we understand; Jesus is confronting and can be triggering to many; He warned those who believe in Him of this.

Yet, Jesus is the only way to find True peace. He is able to change hearts filled with hate and turn even the most hopeless situations around; and we can pray with faith that He will! “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me‘” (John 14:6). As much as the world likes the idea, the Truth is that there are are not multiple ways–Jesus is the only way to life. To follow His way is to love as He loves, and to trust that He will help us expel hatred from our own hearts.

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). After seeing human efforts to stop hate fail for over twenty years now, and going through many times of feeling powerless, I can take heart in the difficult words of Jesus, to “love our enemies” (Matthew 5:44). Now I see loving our enemies as a way to do the justice that human efforts to stop hate cannot do. Doing justice can be to earnestly love the hearts of those who do evil things in obedience to Jesus’ command, and pray for Jesus’ blood to cover them too.

Paul wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). To love our enemies we must humbly remember that in the face of God’s holiness and righteousness, without Jesus we are no different than those who act in hate. We are all in desperate need, for the covering of Jesus’ blood to pay our debt before God, no matter our sin or the state of our hearts.

We give the fight for justice over to God when we choose to love in the face of hate. This involves letting go of what the world is telling us to hold tight. God desires to avenge evil Himself; He is the only True Judge. Paul wrote, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). Jesus prepared us for this present hate, and He knew it was coming, saying, “And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another” (Matthew 24:10). In preparation for this time, Jesus taught His followers to love.

We don’t get what our sin deserves when we are in Christ, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). How is this just? Though we all deserve the responsibility for our sin, we could not pay the price for it. Jesus came because He could make a way to pay for it on our behalf. Because of His love for us, His blood payment is now available to cover anyone’s sin debt who believes in Him, even those who have perpetrated hate and done injustice. Justice was served by Jesus’ blood. He took our place. He was and still is a God of justice. Trusting Jesus’ fulfillment of justice for our souls and the grace provided by His sacrifice allows His love to reign in our hearts, which we are commanded to share.

God is looking to partner with us and the love He’s given us through the Holy Spirit to transform and change even the hardest of hearts with love. God is after human hearts. He doesn’t operate the same way as this world of threats and fear-based consequences. It’s when we follow Him and learn to operate in His way, the way of the Kingdom of heaven, that we are free from fear.

May Jesus reign in our hearts. He is the only Way to a truly just world.

“The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14, NIV).

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8)?


“They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:19, NIV).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Do You Still Trust Me?

I didn’t know what it meant to trust God until I had to trust God. I could talk all day calmly and logically about trusting God from a young age, but until I was faced with multiple medical emergencies, accidents, tragedies, and crossroads in life, I had no idea what “trusting God” meant. At first, I took these difficult circumstances as God’s indifference, and the chaos and cruelty of life. Now after more experience, I can say that I’m grateful for them. They have been opportunities, however difficult, to trust God more completely, wholeheartedly, and desperately. They’ve been a very quick and accurate test that shows me just how much I’m relying on God, or not.

We go to school to provide for ourselves in some way, intellectually or for new skills. We work to provide an income to pay for living expenses. Many of us do this all our lives. But we must never forget that it is God who provides for us, not ourselves. God, “who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’” (Deuteronomy 8:16-17). The pride of self-reliance is a trap I’ve fallen into many times. But we see in this passage, God tests us in this, and it’s for our good. It’s been the difficulties, such as those I faced when I could no longer rely on myself the way I was used to, that have helped me most to live life every day with the King.

In the Characteristics of God series, we have delved into the details of who God is, what He’s really like according to Scripture, and why we can trust Him in the first place. Knowing God’s character is necessary to begin to live in step with Him, His will for us, and the people in our lives. We cannot trust someone we don’t know.

God trusts you with the struggles in your life. He trusts that you will walk through them and discover how He is walking with you, and know Him better for it. He trusts that you will respond to His love once you recognize it. He trusts that eventually you will recognize how He provides for you in the struggle. God is patient to let you take your time in grasping the incomprehensibility of His sacrificial, unconditional love for you, and the amazing freedom you actually have in that great love.

Jesus never exploits us or forces us into loving Him. The Apostle Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He died for us while we were still sinning against Him. While we disobeyed Him and separated ourselves from Him, He still chose to sacrifice His life for ours. We only need to believe that He really is that merciful, faithful, good, and gracious. Jesus gave us reason to rejoice, and provided all we need, besides. We are truly safe and free in His love!

With every new challenge this past year, it was as if God was asking me the question, “Do you still trust me?” Physiologically this past year, I felt anything but safe or free. The time of establishing my faith was long over, and in this season, I was tested on whether that faith could be shaken. Not only that, but tested in learning to trust God in real time, while experiencing the panic and grief that came with burnout. Did I know what to trust God for? Did I know who He was and what He promises to His people? Did I believe they applied to me even while I was afraid? I needed God to walk with me through that test; I couldn’t endure on my own. He has been faithful to see me through to this new season, where there will surely be new challenges to face. But now on the other side of that particular test, I’ve learned by experience how much God can be trusted.

We all face challenges in our lives that are more than we can bear; each are invitations from God to lean on Him. He will get us to the other side of the challenges we face. We can’t handle them on our own, we need God to provide. The more we recognize that reality, the more God can work in our humbled hearts, ready and expectant for Him to work on our behalf, for our good. We need Him to free us from pride that keeps us bound in self defensiveness, fear, and selfishness. In the Book of James, James writes, “Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). The more I agree with the reality that God is in charge, not me, the more freedom I experience.

May God break every chain in us to live free in His love. Amen.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

“Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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Hope in Waiting

Christmas is almost here. I was reminded this week that while Christmas is traditionally a time to look back on Jesus’ birth, it can also be an opportune time to remember that He promised to come again. In the words of Jesus, “And . . . I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:3). What a beautiful promise! Unlike the first time, Jesus won’t come again as a helpless newborn in a stable. He said that He will come in glory; “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

We’ve been waiting a long time for Jesus’ return already. We are all called to wait with expectancy for Jesus, living in a way that honors His sacrifice. Peter said, “. . . what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:11-13). As we are waiting for Jesus’ return, and a new heaven and earth, it can be easy to forget His incredibly loving promises to us. What if you were to join with me in taking the opportunity to reflect, not only on His birth, but on your hope in His return?

At Christmas, we remember God with us, Jesus; also known, especially in this season, as Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14), and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). We remember that Jesus’ presence brought hope to the world. Is your heart hopeful this Christmas season? Has your hope been diminished by the waiting?

If so, the ancient Jewish people can relate; they waited centuries for the Messiah to come, and many became discouraged. Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) were two individuals mentioned in Scripture who had solid faith in the coming of God’s redemption for His people, even in the long period of waiting. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Here we see that there is hope to be had, perhaps especially in the waiting. We aren’t meant to go for the soaring part without waiting first.

If you’re feeling restless, or tempted to go ahead on your own strength, remember in this season the wisdom in waiting for the Lord. Hold on to hope. Jesus is worth the wait. David knew what it was like to wait years for relief. He wrote, “[Bless the Lord] who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Psalm 103:5). David was on the run from king Saul during the prime years of his youth. He waited while eluding Saul’s pursuit for years, trusting God to restore of his life what seemed to have been lost.

Waiting on the Lord is never in vain. Jesus is coming again, and is coming to conquer all that would keep us from Him. May we be found faithful in the waiting. “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14). The commemoration of the “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) for all people, Jesus’ birth, is imminent, but Scripture reminds us that Jesus’ second coming is, too. Let’s remember the hope yet to come, this year and every year. Merry Christmas, friends.

“And they have conquered him [the accuser] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11).

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end” (Revelation 22:12-13).

“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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The December Goal

I am amazed when I look back on how much God has done in the last year. Today I was reminded that the focus of my attention is too often on the “things” that I think will make my life better. Things like peace and joy are things that I often pray to experience, as I imagine they themselves would improve my own life. But I was convicted today that actually, the goal isn’t to experience the peace or the joy, but God Himself.

What if God Himself was our goal? What if we yearned for His Presence more than we yearn for the fruits of the spirit? Friends, God is the goal. Knowing God, being with Him in worship and prayer, and experiencing life in relationship with Him is just starting to describe the level of intimacy with Him that He desires to have with each one of us. This relational experience of God goes far beyond improving life—it IS life.

2025 has been a year of a lot of change for me. I’ve changed my vision for the future, expectations, rhythm of life, and even church. It’s been very difficult to adapt and yet wonderfully positive and life-giving. It’s been a challenging year of learning how to truly come to Jesus for rest (Matthew 11:28). “Surrender” has been the key word of my year. I would be led back to it no matter what the situation was or the state of my heart. I had to surrender control to God in order to move forward, time and time again. It was new, it was difficult, it was harder than it seemed and not what I thought it meant when I was newer in my faith. And it’s something I’ll be doing for the rest of my life. Surrender is so important to having a relational experience of God; it made up a lot of our back-and-forth conversations in 2025. I had to stop grasping at surrender; instead I had to let go.

This year, I’ve developed the perspective that letting go is the most courageous thing someone can do in their life. It’s also a tangible, practical way of trusting God instead of relying on self. But letting go isn’t weak or lazy, not at all. It’s powerful. It’s the way of true power and abundant life. Paul wrote, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Paul was one who God chose to let go of his life of Jewish religious prestige and share the message of Jesus with many parts of the world that hadn’t heard it yet. Paul (then Saul) experienced Jesus in a way that caused him to repent, and he let go of the life he was living. He trusted the path that Jesus set him on instead (Acts 9:6 & 9:17-20). By God’s gracious love, we are able to do the same in our own lives today.

God Himself—seeking Him, living in His Presence, and being in His will out of reverence and trust in Him—that is what I’m calling the December goal. It’s the goal that can’t wait until January when everyone remembers to make life improvement lists. The December goal is the only goal we need to focus on, every day. It’s the only one we need, the life itself, yet it so easily can get overlooked, somehow. Seeking God, rather than His gifts, is the goal I want to have today and every day. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Gifts will follow, and can’t be the focus when we follow God wholeheartedly. Like the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:44), Jesus is worth all we have. In Him is the only place to find everything we yearn for. Jesus deserves it all, He gave it all for us.

If you’re reading this, and you haven’t surrendered to Jesus, don’t wait until January 1st. Don’t wait until tomorrow. It’s something that right here and now, in December, will be the only thing that truly, eternally, satisfies your soul. We were each made for a special, unique relationship with Him; let go of anything holding you back and give Him the control of your life. It’s hard, but don’t give up! Jesus is waiting, right now, to hear from you. Tell Him your struggles, your laments, your hopes, and expectations. He longs to hear your heart. He is worth your all.

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23).

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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The Body of Christ

This past week I have been dealing with a neck and back injury. It’s disrupted both sleep, and this week’s blog post. All that to say, this one will be brief.

There is a need to each other to lift each other up in prayer, perhaps more than we realize. Ephesians 6 says, “and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,” (Ephesians 6:17-18). When someone I knew heard about my injury, they didn’t hesitate to pray, even though I hadn’t asked them to. Prayer for one another is just one powerful way we can follow Jesus’ commandment to love one another (John 13:34). The body of Christ, the church, is a powerful, connecting force in the spirit. When it operates in the love of Jesus, it is truly a beautiful, healing place.

None of us can do life alone. We need each other not just for prayer, but for care, encouragement, and covering. Having a hurt back has turned into a surprising blessing to me, because I witnessed the body of Christ address my acute need in prayer. It blessed me to receive that love and care. It blessed me to see obedience to the Word of God. It blessed me to realize how blessed I am to be part of the body of Christ.

Without the seemingly frustrating trial of my injury, I would likely have not appreciated where God has placed me quite as much. God can use anything to get our attention back on Him, on His work and His plan. Prayer matters. Prayer is a powerful form of care and love. It was a blessing to be reminded of the goodness to be found in the body of Christ. Today, I am thankful to be feeling much better, and that the pain has subsided considerably.

May we be attentive to the goodness of the body of Christ, even in a world that points out all the ways it has failed. And may we pursue love (1 Corinthians 14:1) as we journey with Jesus together, never failing to cover and intercede for each other in prayer. Amen.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many” (1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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God’s Help

Letter to my future self

Is it hard for you to accept help too, or is it just me? It can be very difficult for me to accept help from people and from God. Pride can get in the way so easily, and that’s especially when the way of the world can seem more important than the Way of Jesus. However, it’s fundamental to Christian faith to be able to accept help and grace from Jesus, and from His people. Even when I believed they couldn’t help. Even when I felt it looked weak. For some of us, it’s not as easy as it sounds to accept help.

“I hope you have looked to God to help you with all of these things.” When I was 14, I wrote that in a letter to my “40-something” self. I pulled it out of dust today, and while I’m not quite 40 yet, that letter reminded me of how much God has taught me this past year about how to let Him help me. Even at 14, I knew it was a struggle for me. I was used to walking in the opposite direction of God for help, trying to help my own self, thank you so much. I wouldn’t have admitted that, though. But, revelation comes when we are ready to see it. God is so mercifully patient with us that way.

I was lost in the way of the world and couldn’t stop going the wrong way, like running on a treadmill with a broken emergency brake. But I didn’t know how to fix it. I needed help. God helped me first by letting me break all the way down. To the point where I couldn’t help myself even if and when I tried. “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). It was humbling, but it was the lesson I needed. We can’t humble or transform our own hearts, we need Jesus to do that.

Part of me will probably always be prone to being tempted to earn things for myself; I think that’s normal for us human beings. But God has been faithfully teaching me a new Way, a Way of freedom from sin, including the pride that kept me from accepting help. My letter showed me that my 14-year-old self was longing for it and I’m grateful that I’m finally starting to learn. And God is faithful to teach you too. He never gives up on us, not even after many, many years. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). So now, though I’m sure I’ll mess up again, because hi, human, I’m looking to Him more than ever to live a life aligned with the Truth: that it is only by God’s help that we have every breath and blessing.

May we all learn to rest in the Truth of God’s help, aware of how completely we depend on Him for all we need. Amen.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121:8).

Thank you for spending some of your time journeying with me. If you haven’t yet, please subscribe to Life with the King, and like & follow the Facebook page; it truly helps me continue writing this blog. Grace and peace.

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