When You Think You Can’t, God Says You Can

,

Luke 1:37 – “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

When we adopted Knox, we thought we knew what we were getting into. The paperwork said he had cochlear implants, spoke a little English, and was fluent in Chinese. But the minute we met him, we realized real quick—that was simply not true.

And suddenly, we weren’t just new parents. We were new parents with no idea how to communicate with our son.

I won’t lie to you. It was overwhelming. If we had known upfront how much we would be stretched, I don’t know if we would have had the courage to say yes. That is just the honest truth.

But here’s the thing—God knew. And He had a plan far greater than ours.

Now, years later, Knox is the most incredible kid. He is bright, funny, and kind. And while we still have plenty to figure out, I know now that he was always meant to be ours.

Looking back, I see it so clearly—God knew we could handle more than we thought. And I think that’s true for you, too. Right now, you may feel overwhelmed by what’s in front of you.

You may be looking at something and thinking, “There’s no way I can do this.” But friend, God has already gone ahead of you. He sees the full picture, and He knows exactly what you are capable of even when you don’t.

And one day, you will look back and see—it was never impossible. It was just bigger than you.

And bigger than you is where God does His best work.

/by

Prioritizing Peace in Pressure

,

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Eight days. Just eight more days until I walk down the aisle and say, “I do.” Eight days until a thousand tiny details—flower arrangements, last-minute Amazon deliveries, and seating charts—would either come together or fall apart.

And I felt like I was drowning in all of it.

I would wake up each morning before the wedding already feeling behind. My mind would sprint through the day’s tasks before my feet even hit the floor. I wanted to start my mornings with God—I knew that was the right thing to do—but instead, I reached for my phone or for my planner for control.

Then, one morning, in the middle of my mental storm, a thought cut through the chaos:

“Is this how you want to enter marriage? Frazzled? Exhausted? Trying to hold everything together by yourself?”

I sat there, phone in hand, convicted. I had been so focused on making everything perfect that I had left God out of the picture. I had forgotten to take a moment to breathe and center myself on Him.

So, I did something different. I put the phone down. I closed my eyes. And I prayed, not for my list to magically disappear, but for my heart to be re-centered on Him.

I reminded myself that with Him, I could face anything.

It is funny—nothing about my circumstances changed in that moment. But I did. Whenever I placed God as my priority, the knots in my stomach loosened, and I felt strengthened to tackle each day’s task.

Is there something in your life that is weighing you down? Perhaps it is a to-do list or an overwhelming task you’re trying to manage on your own. If your mind is crowded and your heart overwhelmed, take a step back. Pause. And give it to God.

Because when we put Him first, everything else falls right into place.

/by

Love that Lifts Us Up Again

,

Proverbs 24:16 – “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”

Hadassah sat at the top of the hill, gripping her handlebars with all the confidence in the world. Her legs bounced with excitement, her feet barely staying on the pedals. I crouched beside her.

“You ready?” I asked, resting a steadying hand on her back.

She nodded eagerly. “I’m ready, Daddy!”

“Okay,” I said. “Just remember—”

But before I could finish, she launched forward, her laughter trailing behind like a banner. For a few glorious seconds, she was weightless. Fearless.

And then I saw it—the hesitation in her shoulders, the slight panic in her grip.

She did not know how to stop.

“Hadassah!” My voice cut through the air. “Squeeze the brakes!”

She didn’t. Instead, her feet shot out, dragging against the road.

“Not your shoes!” I winced. “Those are brand new!”

Her bike wobbled and swerved, and then she crashed. I was running before she hit the ground. By the time I reached her, she was crumpled in a heap. Her scraped knees were pulled up to her chest, and hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

I knelt, scooping her into my arms. “Oh, sweetheart. I’ve got you. You’re okay.”

Her sobs hiccupped as she clung to me. I held her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“That was scary, huh?”

She gave the tiniest nod. I squeezed her a little tighter. “I know. But you were so brave.”

She sniffled. “I didn’t know how to stop.”

I smiled, smoothing a hand over her back. “That’s okay. You’ll get it. You’re still learning, and that’s what matters.”

And isn’t that how life goes? We take off, thinking we have got everything figured out. We stumble. We fall. We scrape ourselves up in ways we never saw coming.

But, every single time, our Heavenly Father comes running.

Not with anger. But with arms open wide. His grace meets us in the dirt, not with disappointment, but with love.

Hadassah would ride again, and next time, she’d remember how to stop. And when life throws you and me off balance and we stumble, I believe we will too because…

 “You’re still learning, and that’s what matters.”

/by

How Grace Changes Everything

,

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

John Newton couldn’t outrun the weight of his past. At just eleven, he left school and stepped into a world of cruelty, selling human lives into slavery—decisions that would one day haunt him like a ghost he could not shake.

But one night, everything changed. A storm of unimaginable fury descended upon his ship. As monstrous waves threatened to sink the vessel, fear gripped his heart.

Desperate, he reached for a book—a Christian one filled with words about mercy, conviction, and a God who could redeem even the worst of men. As he read by flickering lantern light, something broke loose inside of him. If grace was real, maybe, just maybe, it could reach even him.

He survived the storm, but the man who stepped onto dry land was not the same one who had set sail.

Years later, as a pastor, Newton longed to help others grasp the mercy that had changed him. He saw that people needed more than rehearsed prayers and ancient psalms. They needed songs they could feel in their bones—songs that told the truth about being lost and found.

So, he began writing.

“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.”

Maybe you have believed the lie that your past defines you. That you have gone too far, done too much, or strayed too deeply into the mess of life to ever be redeemed. But if John Newton’s story tells us anything, it is that grace is real. It reaches into the darkest places. It finds the lost. And it is still as amazing today as it was then.

 

Lyrics:
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

[2x]
My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
Will be forever mine.
You are forever mine.

Music video by Chris Tomlin performing Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).

/by

When God Says Go

,

Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

I have always admired people who have a plan—the ones with career goals, retirement savings, a five-step strategy for their life. But that was not me at 21. I was just a girl praying like my life depended on it and asking God what on earth I was supposed to do.

And then, out of nowhere, I heard one word in my heart: Radio.

It made no sense why God would say this. I had no background, no connections, and no idea where to even begin. But not long after, I was listening to a Christian station, and I heard them mention a position in Camdenton, Missouri.

Something about it felt important. So, I grabbed my trusty 1990s atlas, traced the highways with my finger, and found it. It was less than a day’s trip away. That was doable.

Monday morning came, and I hit the road to apply for the job.

Tuesday, they called me back for an interview.

Wednesday, they offered me the job.

And on Thursday? I was live on the air.

I still remember the feeling of sitting in that studio, headphones on, heart pounding as I opened the mic for the first time. My voice—broadcasting out to people I had never met. It was thrilling, terrifying, and absolutely right.

For five years, I showed up, spoke, and trusted that somehow, God was using it. Then, like all things, that season came to a close as God opened other doors in radio.

But even now, after all these years, I look back and think—what if I hadn’t gone to Camdenton, Missouri? What if I had let fear keep me from the road that led me there? But I did go. I showed up, scared but willing. And because of that, I got to step into something I never could have planned for myself.

Maybe that is where you are right now—standing at the edge of something big, uncertain, and maybe even a little terrifying. Maybe you don’t feel ready, or maybe the road ahead looks impossibly unclear. But the truth is, God doesn’t call us to have all the answers—He just calls us to take the next step.

And when you do? You just might find yourself in the middle of a story only He could write.

/by

Waiting for the Right Moment

,

Lamentations 3:25 – “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”

All morning, I had been running around making sure every detail of my friend’s wedding day was perfect. Fixing flowers, adjusting the dress, calming nerves—whatever it took to make her dream a reality.

But this—this was the moment she had been waiting for.

Her first look.

She stood in the center of the room, back turned, hands clasped in front of her. Just waiting.

We bridesmaids clustered near the doorway while peeking through the cracked door and watched as the groom stepped in the room.

He did not say a word at first. He simply took her in, like he wanted to remember this moment, before the ceremony, for the rest of his life. And then, with a steady hand, he reached out, touched her shoulder, and turned her around.

Their eyes met, and her face broke into a smile. His eyes shone with unshed tears, and for a moment, the rest of the world disappeared. The weight of months and years of waiting for each other fell away.

It was stunning.

And I could not shake the feeling that this is exactly what God does for us.

He is the One who moves toward us with just as much love and intentionality, holding steady to His promises. He wants to sweep us into something more beautiful than we ever imagined.

He prepares us, leads us, and asks us to wait for Him with expectant hearts. And it makes me think, if I really believe that, then I want to wait for Him and trust him with my whole heart.

And when that moment comes—when I see what He has been working on behind the scenes—I want to be ready. Because one day, He will turn me around, and I do not want to miss the joy on His face when He does.

/by

When Your Faith Becomes Real

,

Matthew 10:38-39 – “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

I was in college when I really began to understand, internalize, and digest what it really meant to have my identity rooted in Christ.

The reason why is that I grew up in a strong, church-life kind of family. Scriptures were ingrained in my siblings’ and my whole world. You know, I knew what the Bible said about me because my parents made sure I did.

But it wasn’t until I was out of that protective bubble, and I was around people who were different than me and had different ideologies, philosophies, values, and morals that I had to make my own choices.

Would I let the labels, expectations, and freedoms that others defined for me shape my life? Or would I choose to anchor myself in the unchanging truth of who God says I am?

And let me tell you, I didn’t always get it right. There were stumbles, bumbles, and missteps. But through it all, one thing became crystal clear: God doesn’t have grandchildren.

You don’t inherit faith. You don’t ride on the spiritual coattails of your parents, your church, or your upbringing. You are either His child by your own decision, or you are not.

Though I had been a Christian, I realized that truly living for Christ was a choice I had to make for myself. And once that truth took root in my heart, it changed everything. I discovered in that stage of life my identity as a “Christ-follower”.

That identity in Christ? That has carried me every single day since. And I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

— Priscilla Shirer

/by

Faith Is Meant to Move

,

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

James 2:17

As a baby, talking came easily to me, but I was a bit of a late walker. Believe it or not, I did not start until I was around 15 months old.

Crawling worked just fine for me, so I stuck with it. No amount of motivation from my concerned parents could change that.

That was true until one day I yelled, “Juice, mommy, juice!” My mom hurried into the kitchen as my voice echoed throughout the house. When she turned back, she was shocked to see I had stood up and followed her.

Just like that. No warmups or practicing steps. I just got up and moved.

You see, even at that age, I knew what I wanted, and I was not about to wait around. The truth is, there are some things we should wait for, but there are others we should go after.

I have often heard the advice to “wait on God,” but I have come to realize waiting is more about the posture of my heart than simply sitting still. It is about moving forward with hope and expectancy, trusting that God is guiding me.

Scripture tells us, “Faith without works is dead.” So, as a Christian, I do not want to sit passively and wish upon a star anymore. Instead, I want to actively pursue all God has put in my heart.

So now, when God places something on my heart, I don’t want to overthink it. I don’t want to hesitate. I want to step forward in faith, trusting that He will meet me there.

And I wonder—what about you? What is the thing you have been waiting for? The step you know you need to take? Maybe today is the day you stop waiting and start moving.

/by

Where You Cannot Be Replaced

,

“The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.”

Proverbs 4:7

You’ll have to know a little background on my sister, Priscilla. She is a master at saying “no.” And not in a rude way—she just knows that every “yes” costs something. So, she is intentional. She prioritizes what matters most, which means she has to be just as serious about what she turns down.

One day, we were talking, and she said something profound.

She said, “You know, Anthony, when I say no to an event—whether it’s something in an arena somewhere or a women’s conference or Bible study— it is because I know that my voice in that scenario can be replaced.”

“Somebody else can step in and do that,” she continued, “but my voice at my son’s basketball games cheering them on cannot be replaced.”

I had to sit with that for a minute. Wow. That’s crazy, I thought

Because, if I am honest, a lot of us—myself included—are drawn to what looks bigger. We chase the opportunities that seem more important, more influential. We say yes to what shines the brightest, thinking that is where we’re needed the most.

But we miss what actually matters most.

The places where our voice is not just wanted—it is necessary.

So, here is the question: Where is your presence irreplaceable?

Because that’s where you need to be.

— Anthony Evans

 

More information on our events page!

/by

Love That Does Not Hold Back

,

“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3

Some moments just make time stand still.

The second I step through the door, I see her. Reese is already on the move, her whole face beaming. Her little feet pound against the floor as she barrels toward me. No hesitation, no fear. Just pure, unfiltered love.

And when my daughter reaches me, she throws her arms around my neck and holds on like she never wants to let go.

I don’t know if she realizes what that does to me.

No matter how long my day has been, no matter how exhausted I feel, that moment always fills me right back up. There’s no earning it, no proving myself—just love, given freely, without hesitation.

And every time, I think: This must be how God feels about us.

It stops me in my tracks. If I, an imperfect mother, can feel this kind of love for her—how much more must my Heavenly Father feel for me? It is a love so deep and so unconditional that the thought almost takes my breath away.

But then another thought follows, and it stings. I don’t always do that with God. How often do I hold back? How often do I let fear, shame, or distraction keep me at arm’s length?

Reese never does that. She does not stop to wonder if she’s loved. She just knows.

And I wonder—what if I lived like that? What if I ran toward God with the same kind of trust, the same confidence, the same joy?

Maybe today is the day I stop hesitating. Maybe today is the day I just run straight into His arms.

/by