If you’re following Jesus, I’m guessing that you can look back and remember specific times when you have experienced the presence of God, a movement of the Holy Spirit, and/or an encounter with Jesus that was holy and powerful.  For some of us, maybe we get to experience that on a weekly basis as we worship together in our local churches.  Maybe for others, you’ve experienced it at a women’s conference or concert when surrounded by a body of believers.  Or perhaps you’ve experienced it when it’s just you alone with the One who made you, singing at the top of your lungs the perfect song with the perfect lyrics that sound like they’ve been written by Him, just for you.  Or when you’re walking your dog at night and a shooting star glows across the sky, it makes you feel like He’s so close you wonder if you’ll soon feel His breath on the back of your neck. But then life moves on, things get busy, the world gets loud again, and before we know it, God feels far from us.  We long for that closeness with Him again. God created us, and He knows that only He [...]

I was a few weeks into the first grade when my family moved. It wasn’t a big cross-country move, but it was big enough that I was zoned for a different elementary school. As a shy child, I was nervous about going to a new school and making new friends. I wound up meeting my lifelong best friend in first grade. We were inseparable throughout high school. We were college roommates and the maid of honor in each other’s weddings. To this day, when I go back to Ohio for a visit, we make time to catch up and belly laugh over ridiculous youthful antics. I’m grateful for that friendship. When I struck out on my own after college, I landed in Texas where I knew exactly no one. And once again, I found a wonderful friend. Despite living on opposite sides of the country, we still do our best to keep in touch. And when I moved from Texas to South Carolina, I met another woman who has been my bestie for 20+ years. The Lord drops people into your life when you need them most. He gives you friends because he knows we need them. We need [...]