K I N D L I N G

What does the time between the stirring to do something God’s told you to do (big or small) and when you say yes to it reveal about our relationship with God? Now, let’s make sure we are on the same page with this before I go forward. This is a heavy topic. And it would be easy to feel like I’m her

Oftentimes when I think about friendship, I think about the benefits of having people around to chat with or share ideas. I mostly see friends as people who I can confide in and spend time with. I usually don't see friends as stabilizers. Stabilizers? We can all comfortably agree that there wi

How much weight are we supposed to put on the things of this world? How much should we care when something goes wrong or we come up short? How do we respond when our dreams don't pan out the way we thought or the plans we constructed for our lives take a dramatic shift? I know I put too much stock

Growing up it was hard for me to be real with people. On the surface, it would seem that I was close with others, but in reality I kept everyone at a distance. My “friends” knew the most shallow version of myself and I was okay with that. It meant that I didn’t have to get into sharing the complete

Recently there was a picture going around on social media showing the difference between two rooms that were in a house fire. One room had the door open during the fire and the other room had the door closed. The room with the door open, as you can imagine, was completely destroyed. The room with th

Be on the hunt for new friends. The Indigenous Australians practiced a method called Fire-stick Farming where they would scorch the earth to transform vegetation and adjust the actual plant or animal species surrounding them and their village. Pause on that for a moment. Their familiar environment

I love my people. I love spending time with my people. I love spending time with God alone. Be alone with the Father. Wait, what? This is about friends Erin, did you get the memo? Uh yeah, I did… be alone with the Father, but like how Jesus did. He would slip away often and spend time with Him.

Growing up, I was the baby and only girl of my siblings. On the street that I grew up on, where many of my fondest childhood memories were made and my athletic ability was born, I was the only girl-surrounded and forced to hold my own with the 7 boys who lived near us. I’ve always appreciated the sw

Because why not? I've been thinking lately about what it means to dream big dreams, and then do something about it. I've been encouraging my students to have big goals and go for them. All this talk about their goals made me more aware of how I've let mine fall by the wayside. I've allowed myself t

Being honest is not something I shy from. Ask anyone close to me, I can sometimes be too honest. I'm honest quickly with people about an assortment of topics. A few years ago, I made a decision to stop lying. In all forms of it. Even the white ones. And I tell you what, I've begun to see the benef

I know, I know. There are many times when I have to fight with myself regarding my belief in the efficacy of prayers. Because I know they do something. They affect various (every??) element(s) of life. I'm not totally sure how prayers are heard by God or how He responds each time or how the Spir

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is an ever-lasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 ESV I don't know about you but reading that God doesn't faint or grow weary gives me some encouragement be

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-- Joel 2:25a NIV Today I am in awe of God. I'm in awe of His timing and His purposes and His faithfulness and the promises He put on my heart almost 3 years ago. I am somewhat at a loss for words so this post is hard to articulate, but I don't

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18

1 John 1:5 (ESV) This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.  I'm curious about what God looks like. Like literally looks like. If we are made in His image, then does He look human? Our definition of human? Man and woman comb

Welcome to the KINDLING extension of “The Initial ‘Yes’” Series on the podcast! If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, go to Soundcloud or Apple Podcasts to catch up. If you’re here after listening to the podcast, you are here for the juicy details… and to be honest, you’ll only get a little.

"Chasing after the wind" is all over the book of Ecclesiastes. And I think on first notice, we all just think of chasing about stuff that we'll never fully catch up to or obtain. When I first started reading through this book more intentionally last week, I found myself brushing this idea off as if

So far Front Row Friends (FRFs) has discussed friendship in the light of fire. Looks like we got a bunch of pyros over here. Reflecting on these friends fanning dreams and works into flame led me directly to think about the refinement that comes with friendship with my FRFs. Psalms 66:10-12 “For y

I used to struggle with the feeling that I didn’t have those Front Row Friends that I could count on. Throughout my youth and even into my adult years, I often found myself in want of more reliable friendships, but unsure how to develop them. However, when I took an honest self-evaluation, I realize

I grew up as a pyromaniac. My earthly dad was a fireworks attorney while I was a young kid, so we have a lot of memories lighting things on fire and watching them explode. One memory sticks out the most though. My dad brought home this smoke grenade that was used by the military to hide troops as

I’ve never really felt like I fit in. I never fit into a social mold, a specific table at lunch, or a specific club. I just floated. I sprinkled myself where I wanted to be and let nature take its course. Saying all this, I also never felt like I had many friends. I had some but I guess it never fel

About a year or so ago, the topic of weddings was prominent through my friend circles. The subject ranged anywhere from who was getting married, to who wasn’t, to what our weddings may look like one day. During one such conversation, I shared that I didn’t want a bridal party, much to the surprise

I don't receive criticism well. I just don't. And I wish I did, because it's not like I think I know it all. I know I have so much to learn, even in the areas where I feel like I know a lot. There's a pride issue here... I'm aware. Recently I got what the earth likes to call "rejected." Not a fu

It's amazing to see how we can be used when we stay in our lane. When we mind our business and do our work and love others and trust God. I said this to a student today when he began to boss the girl next to him. My exact words were actually, "Stay in your lane, homie." To which he responded with

That's my biggest struggle these days, in a lot of areas. Waking up early. Getting exercise. Journaling. Posting on this site. Hitting good shots on the tennis court. Trusting God in every circumstance. Pursuing His heart on decisions--even the small ones. Not having a late night snacks... I like c

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us; He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:8-9 NIV I will say, I've not spent much time actually considering the depth of this verse and truth about God.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 ESV A little OT TBT for your soul.  In all seriousness, there’s something about nature that makes me stop to pause. I find the ocean to be beautiful but it’s the mountains that really do it for me. I don’t know what it is about t

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. Psalm 68:5-6 ESV ​ This verse is a reminder to me of how intentional God is; how He notices those

2 Samuel 22:29 (NIV) You, Lord, are my Lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light. ​ I start this whole thing off with a visual of God's character that I have really come to love over the last few years (so much so that I want a tiny little lamp/lantern tattoo... that I'll honestly probably never

This concept has been heavy on my heart lately. I just walked through a serious moment of transition: completing grad school, moving home with my parents for the summer, then moving by myself to a new city I had never been to before. Yet, I knew this was the direction God was directing my steps. I