Lamb + Oak

Photo courtesy of  Aaron Burden   There is something about the beginning of fall that makes me reflective. Maybe it is the first cool breeze after a long summer. Maybe it is watching the green leaves slowly turn shades of gold, amber, and red. Maybe it is the way the sunlight begins to look a little softer, or how the evenings arrive just a little earlier. Fall reminds us that change can be beautiful. And yet, when change happens in our own lives, we do not always see it that way. We often want to hold tightly to the seasons that feel comfortable. We want the people we love to stay close. We want our plans to work out the way we imagined. We want doors to remain open, relationships to remain unchanged, and life to feel familiar. But just as God created seasons in nature, our lives have seasons too. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” There are seasons of beginning and seasons of ending. Seasons of abund...

  “All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” — Matthew 5:37 There was a time when a person’s word was considered one of the most valuable things they possessed. A promise did not need pages of fine print. A handshake meant something. If someone said they would be there, help, call, repay what they owed, or complete a responsibility, others trusted that they would do their best to follow through. Our word still matters today, perhaps more than we realize. Every time we make a promise, accept a responsibility, or tell someone they can count on us, we place something into their hands: an expectation. They may arrange their plans around what we have said. They may stop searching for other help. They may allow themselves to hope. They may trust us with something vulnerable or important. When we keep our word, we communicate, “You matter. Your time matters. Your trust is safe with me.” When we repeatedly fail to keep it, our actions communicate something very different—even if hurtin...

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” — Ephesians 4:32 It is easy to speak about forgiveness, respect, and understanding when life is peaceful and everyone is getting along. It is much harder when someone has hurt us, disappointed us, spoken unfairly about us, or simply sees the world very differently than we do. Jesus did not call us to love only the people who are easy to love. He did not tell us to show kindness only when it is returned, to forgive only when an apology is offered, or to treat people with dignity only when we agree with them. He called us to a deeper kind of love—one that reflects the heart of God rather than the behavior of the person standing before us. That does not mean accepting abuse, excusing sin, or remaining in situations that are harmful. It means allowing Jesus to shape how we respond, even when wisdom requires distance or boundaries. Forgiveness, respect, and understanding are connected. Forgi...

Anxiety is a difficult thing to explain to someone who has never truly experienced it. It isn't simply being worried about something. It isn't always something you can reason your way out of or fix by telling yourself that everything is fine. Sometimes your mind knows perfectly well that you are safe, capable, and okay, while your body seems determined to convince you otherwise. Those who have lived with anxiety understand the battles that can happen quietly and, many times, completely unnoticed by everyone around you. Sometimes the victory is simply doing the thing anyway. Getting up. Showing up. Creating. Making the phone call. Doing what you need to do. Sitting down at the computer and tackling the next task when your mind would much rather have you retreat somewhere safe and quiet. Some days are easier than others. I've learned over the years that I don't necessarily have to wait until I feel fearless to move forward. I can be afraid and still take another step. But...