According to the Cambridge Dictionary, just, as adverb, is defined as “only; simply; and used to reduce the force of a statement and to suggest that it is not very important.”   I was listening to the audio book of Everyone Always by Bob Goff, earlier this month and in it he said something that really convicted me—he said that the Christian’s favorite word is just.   “Dear Heavenly Father I just come before you today…” “I just lift up my family right now…” “I just bring before you…” “If...

Time after time again I’ve been reminded of Jesus’ crazy love for me and you. He’s shown it to me in the smallest moments and in the moments where my heart has been broken into a million pieces. He’s shown it to me in situations I don’t understand and in situations that I thrive in. I’ve seen that there is truly no limit to His love. Seeing children as young as six years old carrying their baby siblings for hours reminds me of the love of our Father. They often look exhausted and worn out, but they never complain. They love their little sibling so much that...

What if you only had 30 seconds to live? What would you do? What insane amount of courage would you have for those last 30 seconds of your life?   30 seconds. Just 30 seconds. If you are afraid to do something, or anxiety is ready to run wild with your mind and body—take a big, deep breath and leap for 30 seconds.   Specifically with my first team on my World Race, this was a motto that I preached a lot. You only need 30 seconds of courage to do something great. Or at the very least, to just plain do something.   “You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds...

“Hi mzungu” – the two words that we hear with every step we take down the dirt roads of Maramba. The community where we stay here in Zambia is called Maramba and Mzungu means “white person.” When Zambian children see us passing by, they have so much excitement in their voices as they yell “hiiii mzunguuuuu.” Usually we don’t just pass them by, though. Usually they grab our hands, jump on our backs, or walk alongside us to where we are going. By the time we reach our destination at least 20 happy, energetic, full of life kids have joined us. The...

  These eyes. I wonder what they see every day. I wonder what goes on behind the surface. What does she think about? What does she contemplate? What does she want out of life? What does she want to be when she grows older? What thoughts circle through her mind late at night, when she can’t sleep? As she sits and eats her lunch, long after the other children are done eating, I wonder if she enjoys the alone time. I wonder what her eyes have seen. I wonder how different our lives are. I wonder how our lives are similar. After all, we are both God’s children. We are both wholly...

  These eyes. I wonder what they see every day. I wonder what goes on behind the surface. What does she think about? What does she contemplate? What does she want out of life? What does she want to be when she grows older? What thoughts circle through her mind late at night, when she can’t sleep? As she sits and eats her lunch, long after the other children are done eating, I wonder if she enjoys the alone time. I wonder what her eyes have seen. I wonder how different our lives are. I wonder how our lives are similar. After all, we are both God’s children. We are both wholly...