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Confessions of a Contributor
My stomach is creaking and groaning like planks in an old wooden porch. I am restless fingers and a timid heart. They hover above the keyboard tentative. Backspace devours the words as fast as I get...
View ArticleThe Gift of Unfiltered Encouragement
Two months after my husband and I adopted our older daughter, I found myself sobbing on the treadmill in the middle of the night. We had waited so long for our sweet girl. In a short time, she had...
View ArticleWhen You’re Afraid Your Best Days Are Behind You
Last weekend I went to my 20th high school reunion. It was an event that I’d built up to be A THING in my head, one I was both nervous about and looking forward to. It turned out to be less “A THING”...
View ArticleThe Stranger I Knew So Well
The woman sitting in the airport that night was completely unassuming and nondescript; there was nothing about her that stood out or promoted itself in any way. In fact, I scarcely noticed her as I...
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Awkward Before Awesome: Just Open the Door
It’s no secret that in this space, we adore, swoon, drool over, and love the ministry of words and story. We love the way our contributor’s words connect with your hearts, we love your words in the...
View ArticleListen to The Stories That Surround Your Making
I can’t remember a day in my house of upbringing without a rice cooker sitting proud amidst all of the lesser appliances in our kitchen. Day after day, it poured steam from its lid while it popped hard...
View ArticleOur Stories Aren’t Meant to Be Hidden
In 2009 God called me to share my abortion story publicly online. When I first felt this call, this unwavering prodding in my spirit, I thought, “No way. I can’t do this. I cannot put this in words in...
View ArticleFinding Hope in All the Pages of Our Stories
While she was still in Korea, our daughter went to a weekly playgroup with other kids like her, who were in the process of being adopted. When we came to bring her home, the adoption agency that had...
View ArticleLearning to Breathe at Higher Altitudes
Breathe in deeply. Let the air gently fill your lungs. Pause, then release. Feel the tension in your shoulders drift away. Inhale again, then exhale. This is the give and take of breath. This is a...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Pass the Mic
“So, tell me about yourself.” It was a simple enough question. I was talking with a woman I had just met the week before at church. In an effort to get to know each other better, we had joined up for a...
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Stories From Those Who Wander
Have you ever wrestled in your faith, or struggled with doubt or unbelief? I have. I thought I was the only one, but I was wrong — there are many of us. Thankfully, God’s faithfulness is greater than...
View ArticleFrom Our Pain We Hold the Power to Help Others
Holley Gerth recently wrote about how she sent these words in an email to the first (in)courage contributors: “Be courageous and write in a way that scares you a little.” As one of the early...
View ArticleMore Than a Bite-Sized Bible
It’s a Sunday night, and I’m watching All Creatures Great and Small, the British TV drama on PBS from Masterpiece Theatre. So, I have a request. “Please don’t bother me,” I ask my husband. “Just allow...
View ArticleHow Sharing Our Stories Can Bind Broken Hearts
“It’s time,” my husband whispered in my ear. He clutched Samuel’s picture frame close to his chest as we slowly squeezed our way to the end of the line. All the young couples in front of us were...
View ArticleAre You Willing to Join Me in Praying for Our Own “Stick Stories”?
In my job as a life plan advisor at a retirement community, among other roles, I’m an educator and tour guide. It may come as a surprise, but there’s a vocabulary specific to our industry – and much to...
View ArticleGod’s Grace for You Will Never End
I was the happiest graduate at my college graduation. I felt like a beam of light floating across the stage. . . because I almost didn’t make it there. During the middle of my junior year, disease...
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