A Little Extra Encouragement, Memphis, TN (2025)

04/24/2025

⏰ Waiting. ⏰

Do you ever find yourself having to wait?

Have you ever had to wait for years for something to happen or change?

Waiting is so hard!

Waiting on answers to prayers is too!

🕰️ In fact…

Waiting on the Lord to move or answer (while staying hopeful) is one of the hardest things we will ever do.

🩷 Let’s talk about that on the blog today with our friend Horace Williams Jr.

He has written a wonderful article called “How to Have Hope in God While You Wait.”

You can link our bio or stories today.

☕️ Grab your cup of coffee and drop on by.

04/22/2025

🩵 It’s one of our favorite family sayings…

“Take a picture with your eyes.”

In other words, take in the moment and make lots of mental notes.

Breathe in every ounce of the beauty around you—the sights, and sounds, and smells.

📸 Take eye photos… You’ll want to remember this one!

🩷 Last week, my daughter and I had the chance to travel to the Florida coast for her work.

One night, we decided to walk on the beach at sunset. It was cool, the wind was blowing, and the experience was amazing.

We were just taking it all in when she snapped this photo!

(Thanks, Emily! I love it! Wish you were in it with me!)

📷 What about you? 📷

Are you taking many photos with your eyes?

Taking in the incredible moments around you?

What has caught your attention lately?

🩵 I would love up hear about it!!

04/17/2025

🩵 These are some of the sweetest words of encouragement:

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10, NLT

04/09/2025

💛 If you don’t pray for your adult child, who will?

One morning, as I sat with God, the Holy Spirit whispered these words to my heart. The weight of the truth gripped me.

🙏🏻Who was praying for my children?

Maybe their spouses, friends, or small group members. My husband and their grandmother prayed.

But what about my grown children who weren’t walking with God?

Who’s praying for them?

💛 If I’m among the few interceding for my children, how does that change my approach to prayer?

- Could prayer be my first response instead of my last resort?

- What if I talked to God about their lives rather than offering formal prayers?

- And what if I surrendered control and exchanged worry for confidence in God?

- What if prayer were the antidote to my distress?

🙏🏻 Let’s talk more about this today.

This wonderful guest post from my friend Pamela Henkelman is called, “The Hope of Praying for Your Adult Children.”

You can link in our stories or bio.

04/07/2025

🩵 Great goals for a new week…

“Put your hope in the Lord.

Travel steadily along his path.”

Psalm 37:34a, NLT

04/03/2025

🥲 Seen it?

Have you ever paused to notice the expressions on the faces of people around you?

Many look unhappy, hurried, and frustrated.

In other words, their outward appearance reveals a sick heart on the inside.

🫢 So, I began to wonder: What exactly causes our hope to be delayed, resulting in an afflicted, sick heart?

I believe the answer lies in what we place our hope in and set our hopes on.

🩷 When we place our hope in ANYTHING other than Jesus—even good things—we risk having it hijacked.

See if any of these Hope Hijackers sound familiar.

Read about the 3 Sneaky Hope Hijackers today on the blog.

🩷 Link in our bio or stories.

03/31/2025

🌸 What a sweet promise…

“The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.”
Psalm 34:17, NLT

03/27/2025

🩵 As a follower of Jesus, we have access to a HOPE that breathes life into our deepest pain.

It’s a hope that shouts from rooftops rather than whispers from the sidelines. His hope is so much more than wishful thinking.

❤️ It’s life-transforming and leads us past all of life’s obstacles toward the purpose God has ordained for our lives.

But friend, even though I know this to be true and have experienced the power of God’s hope, I also know that pain is real. I know that hard times are often unavoidable, and the brokenness of this world often throws its shattered shards directly at us.

🥲 You may be in one of those seasons right now.

- Maybe you’ve lost a loved one and are facing grief deeper than you’ve ever known.

- Or perhaps the betrayal of a treasured friend has left you gasping for air.

- It could be a wayward child, financial devastation, a life-shattering diagnosis, chronic illness, or crushing loneliness.

🩵 Whether you are experiencing one of these seasons or something else entirely, friend, you are not alone. I see you and understand your struggle to hold onto hope.

And even more importantly, Jesus sees you.

He grieves over your pain, weeps with you, and will never leave you.

💕 Let’s talk more about this on the blog today.

This post is called, “Anchored in Hope: Finding Strength in Life’s Storms.” It’s a wonderful guest post from our friend Lori Schumaker!

Link in our bio or stories.

03/23/2025

🩵 We loved hanging out with our friend in Georgia this weekend!

Thank you especially to everyone at First Baptist Villa Rica!

Loved being with you!

Thank you for your generosity, kindness, & hospitality to us!🩷

03/20/2025

🕯️ A Holy Moment 🕯️

I’m ushered into a holy moment—and I don’t want to miss it.

🕯️The Lord prompts me to answer this question: Do I—and can I—trust Jesus?

Memories flood my mind.

All the hard trials that I didn’t—and still don’t fully—understand. My father’s debilitating health began during my teenage years and eventually led to medication dependency. It wrecked our family.

Also, my chronic illness diagnosis at age twenty-six and all the dreams shattered by the years I suffered with it.

Times of financial upheaval and anxiety about the future— the list could go on.

I bet yours could, too.

🩷 Then I recall verses I memorized as a youth:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).

🩵 Let’s enjoy this article with our amazing friend Rosann Coulon about this topic - “Trusting the Father When I Don’t Understand.”

She’s our guest writer on the blog today. Come by & join us☕️

You can link in our stories or bio.

03/17/2025

🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵

What a beautiful word today…

“How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you.

You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.”

Psalm 31:19, NLT

03/13/2025

🕯️ONE SMALL FLAME… 🕯️

Have you ever noticed how much light one small flame can emit?

It doesn’t have to be that large to make a difference in the darkness around it.

🔥 One small flame can pierce the darkness, bringing light where there was none before.

Over the years, this is how I have come to think of hope. I think of it as a little flame that I have carried in my heart throughout my life.

God has protected and it kept that little flame burning, no matter how hard the winds of life have blown.

🌺 There have been days that have tried to s***f that little flame out, but God hasn’t allowed that to happen.

I grew up in chaos, abuse, and dysfunction, and as a result of this, I made a lot of foolish choices far into my adulthood.

Then, I allowed my childhood to cause me to believe a lot of lies, which led me to mistakenly believe that dysfunction was normal.

🩵 Also, I’m grateful to be able to say that God is still in the business of rescuing us and setting us free from the lies we are believing.

(We are enjoying Katrina Douglas’ story today on the blog. It’s called, “How to Fuel the Flame of Hope in Your Life.”)

You can link in our stories or bio…

03/11/2025

☀️ Mornings… ☀️

Are you a morning person like me?

😝 Much to my family’s dismay, I am a really happy morning person.

- I have lots of energy in the morning.
- I talk a lot in the mornings.
- I like to get up early.
- I love mornings.

Anyone with me??

💛 In the Bible, morning is also often spoken of as a very positive time of the day.

It’s the dawn of something new.

His mercies are new every morning.

Jesus withdraw away to pray early in the morning.

Each morning is a fresh new beginning.

🩷 Today’s verse comes from Psalm 30:5, and it simply states, “Weeping may last through the night, but Joy comes in the morning.”

🙏🏻 So this is my prayer for us this morning…

May there be joy in your morning! (Whether you are a morning person or not!)

May you & enjoy the new mercies of God this very morning!

May the weeping subside & the joy overflow!

(By the way… I’ve written a post all about Joy over on my friend Lori Schumaker’s website. You can link in our stories today to read that post about Joy.)

03/10/2025

🩵 On this Monday after time change weekend, these words seem perfect:

“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, STAND FIRM.

Let NOTHING move you.

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV

03/07/2025

👍🏻 It’s true!

God often calls us into endeavors we cannot accomplish in human strength alone.

He brings us to the end of our strength so that we might experience the truth found in 2 Corinthians 12:9: “God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.”

🩵 No matter what new undertaking you’re approaching today, you are not defined by how well you perform.

You are defined by God’s love, and his love can never be taken away from you.

🩷 Want more?

Check out today’s guest post from my beautiful friend Stacey Pardoe!

Link in our bio or stories.

03/06/2025

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️

NEW…

At times, we find ourselves on the brink of something new.

It can cause great anxiety as we launch out!

😩 Anxiety blocks our ability to hear from and connect with God.

We overcome this anxiety by turning away from it and fixing our eyes on Jesus.

☀️ Learn more how to begin a new chapter in life when you feel uncertain.

We have a new post today called, “How to Begin a New Chapter in Life When You Feel Uncertain.”

(My amazing friend Stacey Pardoe is sharing today!💕)

💛 Link in our bio or stories.

02/28/2025

🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃

This is one of my very favorite verses…

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
John 14:27

🌱 Want more encouragement today?

Check out our latest blog post, “3 Reasons To Hope When You Have Given Up.” (It’s a guest post by my amazing friend Janelle Esker.)

🌿 Link in our bio or stories.

02/27/2025

🩵 PAINFUL...

Let’s face it, life can be painful from time to time.

For some believers, there are even long seasons of grief, illness, and depression.

💙 As God’s beautiful creation, created in His image, we all possess cherished hopes and dreams.

Today, let us encourage each other with the truth of God’s Word.

💛 We have a new guest post called, “3 Reasons To Hope When You Have Given Up.”

My amazing friend Janelle Esker is sharing today!

I believe you will be encouraged!

👍🏻 Link in our bio or stories!

A Little Extra Encouragement