By Cara Croft

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite poems. Even if you do not read it all, I encourage you to take a few stanzas and listen to the heart of Christ as he heads to the cross. May it be an encouragement and a reminder of Christ’s great love for you.

By Cara Croft

My dear sister, not only can it be true—it is true. You are worth delighting in. You are being rescued. God sees you, He hears your cries, and He takes delight in caring for you.

Please stop and take a moment. Don’t scroll on to the next blog or the next blog post/podcast/book/sermon/etc. Stop, take a breath and let it sink in for one moment that God delights in you and he will rescue you from whatever it is that is threatening to drown you today.

by Cara Croft

It is important in this season of busyness, this season of hurry and tension, to take a moment and “be still” before God. There may be no “big revelations” from God, there may be no deep conviction of sin. This is just a time to be quiet, listen, and rest in the presence of our loving God.

By Cara Croft

Picture the farmer. He goes out and toils all day in the heat and humidity. He continues to tend his crops, trying to water them as much as possible since the sky seems to have dried up. He focuses on trying to save the crop so that he can harvest it in the cooler days. (I am no farmer, nor do I live near farms so some of these details I am taking my own liberty with interpreting) We work really hard hoping that someday soon those fall winds will blow through, cool off the heat and bring some relief. Yet the heat toils on.

Ministry wives, as we wrap up a month that sometimes makes us painfully aware of our shortcomings and perceived failures in ministry, we encourage you to look for the gifts. If you’re really struggling right now, consider making an actual list of the gifts God has given you in your ministry. Dig deep. Think of ways God has sprinkled in spots of joy into your ministry, even on the toughest days. Thank Him for sustaining you thus far, and pray for Him to keep upholding you as you serve Him by serving your church. He loves you, He sees you, and your ministry matters to Him.

By Cara Croft

As a child, I remember watching my pastor’s wife. For some reason I was fascinated with all she did. She was a woman who played the piano on Sunday mornings, she taught classes on various crafts that she enjoyed, she organized women’s social events and she sat on the front pew at every service. Yet for all of my watching her, I did not “see” her.

By Cara Croft

My prayer for you, dear reader, is that this hymn [It is Well] can be a source of comfort, encouragement and a prayer for us all.

By Cara Croft

The teenage years are messy. They are messy physically and emotionally. Teenagers want to have their own style, their own friends, and their own opinions. It is a time where they are gravitating towards friends and away from us. It is a time when they are trying to figure out who they are and what they believe apart from us. It is a time filled with fear, anxiety, and turmoil for all of us. This is why it is messy.

“It feels like heavy weights pressing down on my shoulders.”

“I would describe it like rope tied tight around my chest making it hard to breathe.”

“To me it is like rocks just sitting in my stomach.”

As I talk with pastor’s wives these are some statements I hear when they are describing the weight of expectations being placed upon them. Honestly, these are some of the words I have used to describe the same weight I often experience.

Each month we will answer a question from a reader as a part of our new “Practical Postcards” series. The questions asked for today’s post are: “How do we thrive in serving Jesus?”, “How do you get through the pain and move on”, and “How do you stop doubting what God has for you after being hurt so badly and unfairly?”

It had been a hard week. It had been a week of caring for people who are suffering. It had been a week of helping my teenagers deal with living in a really broken world. It had been a week of facing people I care about breaking down physically, mentally and emotionally. It had been a week where the needs of everyone around me exceeded my own strength and ability.

I am human. It is that simple. I was made to need time and space because I was made within a constraint of time and space. I am human, I am not God. Only God is outside the realm of time and space. Yet that is not how he created humanity. He created us to be limited in time and resources. He created us with a need for rest and space to regain our resources. He created us with bodies and minds that break down and need to rest, with a soul that requires withdrawing to the lonely places to pray.