“ For God hath not given me a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. ” – 2 Timothy 1:7. I remember when my husband first starting talking about getting a dog. I wanted to be supportive but I was unsure how I felt about it. I was deathly afraid of dogs and could hardly stand to be around them. People often asked me if I had been bitten by a dog and I’d always respond in the negative. Maybe I just had bag dreams about them growing up or watched the wrong movies. Whatever it was, it just rocked me to the core. We started going to the Humane Society and spending short periods of times with dogs in a small room. We took the girls with us and they stole most of the attention so it worked. I started really warming up to the idea. I guess my husband thought I was completely open so one night he showed up with an American Pitbull. Maxx was 8 weeks old and was super small. It was Christmas Break during one of my law school years and I knew there was no way I could be

In Judges chapter 6, we learn that the Israelites had been oppressed under the hands of the Midianites for seven years. Over the years, it wasn’t just the Midianites that took advantage of the Israelites. The Amalekites and other eastern people also invaded Israelite territory. The Israelites felt powerless. Then the Lord spoke. I’m going to start reading at verse 12 and go through verse 15. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” “But sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? He went on to say. But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Let’s look at these few verses in reverse order. You see in verse 15 that Gideon

Last night, I was scrolling through Facebook and came across the following post: “I keep trying to reopen doors that have been slammed in my face.” This post spoke volumes to me. As soon as I read it, it was like cymbals clinging together in my ear drum. It felt like there was a celebration of the fact that maybe I finally understood the lesson life was trying to teach me in this season. Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6 tells us, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away.”   Life experiences have a way to draw us in. Often times, we totally embrace what God places before us. We give our all to a job, a ministry role, a relationship, etc. We embrace these things so completely that when God says that it’s time to move, we have a hard time letting go. Although some things and relationships will last, others are not intended to. We must remember that it’s ok to let go. Lettin