My mom found one of my dad’s old notepads the other day, just a little one he used for work. But tucked inside were some handwritten notes we didn’t expect. Sweet, simple words that meant the world to us.

Caryn and I planted some plants earlier this season, and I just noticed they’re all leaning toward the sun. It got me thinking… am I doing that with Jesus?

I’m a rule follower. I like order. I like when the red Play-Doh stays with the red Play-Doh and the yellow stays with the yellow. That’s just how it should be… right?

Did you ever make shadow puppets as a kid? I remember sitting in my room, taking the shade off a lamp and trying to shape my hands just right to make a duck or a butterfly on the wall.

The funny thing about shadows is they’re not real. They don’t have substance. But they can look convincing.

And I’ve realized that’s exactly how the enemy works.

Fishing sounds fun… until you’re sitting there for an hour with nothing biting. That’s usually how it goes with our boys. Jeremy will take them out, and about five minutes in, they’re already asking when we’re going home. They don’t love fishing – they love catching.

Which is why I think Joe, this guy at Bass Pro, might be on to something.

They hadn’t even finished building their church. But when the floods came, Citywest Church didn’t hesitate. They opened the doors, turned their grounds into a staging area, and just started serving.

There are times when I really want to reach out for help or prayer, but I hesitate. Not because I don’t trust my friends, but because I’m afraid of what they might think if they knew I was struggling. In reality, they’d probably just think I’m human… because I am.

Yesterday, I got a text from my friend Lisa...

When something good is on the horizon – a new opportunity, a fun idea, a big decision – I want to move fast. I want to make it happen. And in the past, I’ve even convinced myself I was doing the right thing… when really, I was just doing it my way.

But here’s what I’ve been learning: when I force things forward without waiting on God, even if it works out at first, it’s exhausting.

At what age can you start telling someone about Jesus? Not your age – how young can they be?I just saw the sweetest video of a Papaw holding his great-grandson, who can’t be more than a few months old, and he starts telling him all about Jesus.

There are plenty of things I’ve prayed about more than once (more like a thousand times). And sometimes I catch myself wondering, “Is this too much? Should I stop bringing this up to God?”

But then I remember: silence doesn’t make the problem go away. It just makes the enemy more comfortable.