Peace in His Presence: Hope for the Anxious Heart

How do you see yourself walking into 2022?   Stepping in with confidence Sliding in like a ballplayer to home base and hoping you are safe Smiling but underneath you feel like you are barely holding on Searching for a place to rest and to try and breathe normal again. Maybe you relate to one or all of these statements. There isn't a right or wrong answer.   I've spent a lot of time listening this...

Michelle was delighted to sit down with author, Anita McVey to talk to her about her devotional book, Because He First Fed Us. Before God created mankind, He created a garden. God was preparing a meal for us before we arrived. He gave us our senses to fully appreciate and enjoy this world. He gave us our family and friends and opportunities to share with each other and with strangers. And He gave...

Have you ever noticed how your negative thoughts can become relentless, like a neighborhood bully? Your thought life impacts your emotions. What can we do when we are struggling? God invites us to sit with Him and to pour our hearts before Him. He wants to listen.  As we empty out our frustrations and grief before Him, God fills us with His peace and surrounds us with His love. God holds you in Hi...

As we enter into this Advent Season, we remember that the God of all creation steps into our story, which is His story.   Our Immanuel meets us right where we are at, and He loves us beyond measure. He is with us in each moment of our life, holding us in His capable hands.   What did this past year hold for you? Unexpected joy. Unspeakable pain. Anxiety and fear. Delightful moments. Managed or unm...

Are your thoughts a tangled mess as you try to sort through a problem you face? Your mind and heart grow weary as you struggle to find a solution. Somethings in life cannot be fixed on our own, and God invites us to put our trials and troubles into His most capable hands. God offers us Himself as a shelter, and He promises us to strengthen our hearts as we walk with Him to face whatever comes next...

Do you feel tension in your shoulders more often than you would like? Have you caught yourself holding your breath as if waiting for bad news? Is there an ache in your heart and at times you have no words to even describe it?  Do you find yourself longing for peace?  You will want to listen to the podcast today? We are going to talk about walking in wonder when life feels weary. November is right...

In this episode, Michelle sits down to talk with author, Sarah Baughman about her book, A Flame in the Dark. It is a novel set in the time of Luther's Reformation and it's a story of God's grace, love, and mercy.  In this interview, Sarah shares with us what it would have been like to live during that time period and she talks about some of the characters in the book. If you would like to learn mo...

Life can twist upside down in an instant, and you feel shaken. God is not shaken even when your world is in turmoil, and you don't know how to move forward. You can rest in His unshakable faithfulness and presence. In this episode, Michelle talks about how her husband ended up in the Critical Care Unit at the hospital and how God helped her through those moments when life was uncertain. What cause...

Does your heart feel broken? Do you feel like you have layers upon layers of grief and you are not sure how to deal with all of it? Join Michelle as she talking about abiding in the presence of El Shaddai. 

Does your heart feel anxious or overwhelmed? God offers you refuge in the shelter of His presence. Join Michelle as she takes a look at Psalm 61 and talks about Selah Moments. 

Deb Burma helps us to unpack all the promises found in Psalm 46. What does it mean that God is our refuge and rest in the storms of life?  We also talk about Deb's New Bible Study: Be Still and Know: A Study of Rest and Refuge(Click here to check out Deb's book and read the first chapter for free).

Michelle sit's down with Author and Speaker, Christina Hergenrader for a conversation about her new book, Inspired.  Maybe like me, you are still figuring out how to navigate through life after the long year we've just been through. Perhaps you are surprised by your emotions and you know you do not feel fine but you are not sure where to go or what to do with all of your feelings My conversation w...

Have you ever struggled with friendship? Friendships fade, change, and even end—and we are left wondering, am I a good friend?  Recently I sat down with Licensed Social Worker, Heidi Goehmann( click here for her website ), to talk about her new book Finding Hope: From Brokenness to Restoration   For this conversation, we talked about when friendships become messy and broken, how can we find hope....

Have you ever been filled with shame over something you did or didn't do?  Do you ever wonder if God could forgive you? As we enter into the story in John 21, we see Jesus making breakfast for the disciples.  They had abandoned their teacher and friend in his greatest hour of need and yet, we find Jesus serving them.   It reminds me of the table God prepares for us as we gather for worship and we...

As we stand at the foot of the cross, may we remember the precious gift we have been given, in Christ Jesus.  Your sins are forgiven, your debt has been paid in full.  

Journey with Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane.  May you be reminded of His great love for you.

Michelle sits down with Gretchen Ronnevik to talk about her book, Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted.  (Click here to check out the book.) The spiritual disciplines are an act of remembrance of God's grace, not a means of obtaining it or manipulating it. It's about resting in who God is and His promises to you.  Take some time to enjoy this grace-filled conversation. May i...

In this interview, Michelle talks to Author, Lindsay Hausch about her soon-to-release book, Take Heart: God's Comfort For Anxious Thoughts. In the interview, we talk about this question? What if God could use your anxious thoughts to draw you closer to Him?  We often feel shame over our anxious thoughts because we think God might be disappointed in us, but He isn't. God meets us right where we are...

Your tears matter to God. He meets you right where you are at and collects your sorrow. He loves you beyond measure.  In this episode, Michelle takes a look at Psalm 56. "You've kept track of all my wandering and my weeping. You've stored my many tears in your bottle—not one will be lost. For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance." Psalm 56:8

You have been chosen by God. He loves you beyond measure. I had the honor of talking to Donna Snow about her Bible Study, Chosen: A Study of Esther.  Join us as we talk about this marvelous study. If you would like to read the first chapter of Chosen for free you can click here. 

Are you struggling with the uncertainty of life right now? Are you worn out and weary from trying to manage life through a pandemic? In this episode, Michelle talks about the promises God has for you, in Isaiah 43. Lean in and listen and rest in God's promises to you. They are true today, tomorrow, and always.

When sorrow fills our hearts, God has given us a path through the pain, through Lament. In this episode, Michelle walks you through Psalm 77 to show you what Lament looks like.  God meets us in the brokenness of our lives, and lament takes us from heartache to hope as we remember the promises of God.

Does Christmas look different for you this year? Perhaps you had plans and now they have all changed. Friends, your sorrow is real. This year has been difficult and the uncertainty is still lingering.  There is joy with the sorrow, because our Emmanuel, God with us, has stepped into the brokenness, bringing us His peace. Jesus will be with us as we navigate through this Christmas season, but He is...

Come just as you are; the Lord is near. In this season of joy, we may not feel joyful, and so what can we do? God wants us to come and bring all of our emotions and thoughts before Him. He meets us right where we are at and gives us what we need to face each moment. Join Michelle as she talks to author and speaker, Deb Burma. This episode was originally a Facebook live devotion. 

God gives us the gift of His comfort and His peace. In this season of waiting, He meets us right where we are at and gives us what we need. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27