Sometimes you are doing too much, and you know it from the tumble of thoughts burying the task that truly needs your attention. You find yourself making slow progress in several areas simultaneously. At every spin, you find more before you that could be straightened, sorted, or scheduled.

Oh friend, I get it.

I admit I mostly (okay, only) wipe out the interior of my fridge when I should be packing for a trip. I tidy the pantry and put wheels to a wild whim of an idea when I have barely enough margin for the minimum. I make spontaneous updates to pages on my website that don't need to be fixed.

The higher my stack of urgent responsibilities, the faster my brain churns. There is a reason I keep an AquaNotes pad in my shower to capture sudden inspiration.

If you struggle with your relationship with work–fighting excuses, inefficiency, or exhaustion–welcome! There's grace and good news, I find, for real people like us.

My slow journey through the New Testament lands me in the book of Colossians, and this week I'm lingering in chapter three. Here's what strikes me about verse 17: Paul doesn't say to do your work unto the Lord only when your load isn't too much, or only when you can keep your priorities in a God-honoring order, or only when you don't feel stressed, stretched, or sidelined.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

2. If you're not getting weekly gratitude stories, you can sign up HERE.

3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Sometimes I can get stuck in my routine. I start my morning the same way every day I can. I fall into a rhythm with school and gymnastics and church. I even put plates a certain way in the dishwasher–every time.

In the midst of the repetition, faith can begin to feel a bit monotonous. Perhaps you've experienced this. You might feel like you're on autopilot, mudding through the motions, willing your heart to be in it. Maybe you're struggling to keep up with the minimum because the needs that take your time? Well, they keep multiplying.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

It feels like summer, and I sit on the step with Seph Schlueter singing through my portable speaker. Funny how you can play worship songs on repeat, but they move you forward, rather than in circles. Yes, you are essentially listening on loop, but the lyrics unravel your reservations and amplify your expectancy with every replay.

Links mentioned:

1. Songs I Play on Repeat playlist.
2. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Perhaps it's grief, your physical health, or some other life disruption that makes the ground gallop beneath you. And it's all you can do right now to keep putting one foot forward at a time. Here are three truths that will steady you when life feels unstable.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

"Did you see what I wrote on the mirror?" He's giddy insistent. First, he points to words I don't even see in the disappearing, post-shower stream.

God is good.

God is great.

Bless his 9-year-old heart, reminding me that even when we can't see how, God's steadiness writes a never-ending story.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

It sounded like a prank call, but I promise we were serious. Seriously set on seeing the sunrise in a city where we'd spend spring break. This was before the days of smartphones to check the weather app. So we did what made most sense to our college student brains—call local numbers in the phone book to ask when the sun rises.

I think of it now as radiant pink entrances us en route to school. These sunrise spottings almost make me like Daylight Savings. Almost.

Since I started running, I catch every sunrise I can. I time my runs down to the minute so I can capture the colors from the church at the crest of the hill. But on school days, I usually miss the sun breaking through the night . . . except when Daylight Savings aligns the time.

A sunrise feels like a God-hug in the middle of the rush to get to school. A splash of His endless creativity. The visible evidence that He is always watching over us.

Or, as Jennifer Dukes Lee writes in her book How to Love Your Morning, that He is watching with us. In her captivating story-telling style, she paints a picture of a God pointing our eyes to the sunrise He created for us. I don't want to spoil it for you, so you just might need to read the book yourself! (This story is in chapter two.)

Links mentioned:

1. How to Love Your Morning by Jennifer Dukes Lee
2. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days
3. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

Lately, it seems we're walking the thin line between breaking and believing. Lighting candles because we need a flicker of hope. Lengthening hugs because we all need the warmth of presence. How do we make Easter meaningful in the middle of spring break–and all sorts of honest aches?

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.

You were made to delight the very heart of Christ. Your words are meant to move the heart of God.

Your devotion undoes Him.

Your worship declares Him worthy.

Your one surrendered life, aligned with His, honors Him.

Links mentioned:

1. FREE, 5-Day Email Course: Turn Your Loneliness into Ripple-Effect Faith in 5 Days

2. Read the written version of this episode HERE.