by Maddie

Do you ever get nervous when God starts answering prayers? It seems counterintuitive, I know, but after an eventful few weeks and studying what happens after   Jericho falls , I’m thinking that angst is a pretty common response to the Lord’s work. Can you relate to that? Any times where God’s done something monumental … and you’re left panicking? Not gonna lie, I feel that way right now. But as our studies are about to show us, this panic is brought about because our eyes str

A couple months ago, my pastor gave a fascinating sermon about a common phenomenon found in Christian's lives. He called it Jesus plus . To sum it up, he was saying how we have a tendency to not be content with Christ alone, but to take up idols to serve in addition  to Him. For the Israelites in the Old Testament, they often sacrificed on altars for both God and gods, of the literal, statue variety. However, Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament reveal that idols don’t have

Hi, I'm on vacation. But don't fret, I'm not gonna leave you hanging. In fact, this post is less of a post and more of a journal entry. You see, I've recently learned that journaling is helpful for me. It gets all one-thousand-and-one thoughts out of my head. Thus, I'm going to do something weird - I'm going to let you read some of my entries. (I have a point to this, trust me...) Lord, help me. I am tired and want food and feel bad. Poor [lady who passed away]. Help us. Gui

If you've been here a while, then you'll know that I really like studying God's Word. So, today we're gonna talk about Sarah, the wife of Abraham. Oh, and did you know that she was previously called Sarai, but God renamed her Sarah , or Princess . So we have Abraham, the father of many nations , which might as well make him a king, and Sarah the princess. Look how God renames as He redeems! Nevertheless, although Abraham and Sarah are well aware of the Lord’s promise of desce

I wanna start with a quote today: “Act not on the mere strength of what you have, but in expectation of that which you have asked.” -...

Fun fact: I’ve learned to write … with only nine functional fingers! You see, this morning, I accidently sliced open my finger (sorry for...

This is for all you introverts out there. And for you extroverts … I bet you get sick of people too. It might take a lot more peopling...

A couple weeks ago, I bought a hamster. Her name is Annalise. I don’t know why I named her that; I just liked it. But I digress. You see,...

Once upon a time, there was a guy named Joseph. He liked to dream, had a rainbow-colored cloak, was betrayed by his brothers, imprisoned, and ended up ruling over Egypt (Gen 37-41). We're picking up there - in Egypt... in the middle of a famine. In response to the famine, Joesph’s put in charge of grain conservation and distribution (Gen 41:55-57). So when his brothers travel to Egypt in search of food… guess who they’re about to see! Suffice to say, this family reunion does

What do you know about Sodom and Gomorrah, aka the salty cities of the Bible? Abraham's nephew Lot (who is the focal point of this blog) lived there, and well, let's just say that these two cities were extremely messed up. Wickedness prevailed in every way imaginable, so much so, that not even ten people in the cities were considered righteous ( Gen 18:22-33 ). As such, God decided to rain down destruction… on everyone except Lot. This man was  deemed righteous (because he be

Have you ever felt like a church sermon was made for you? You know, when the pastor seems to be speaking directly to you?   It’s like God’s giving you a sly wink, reminding you that He knows all of your thoughts, all of your struggles. And that He cares… so much so, that He’s inspired the speaker to say exactly what you needed to hear.  Well, God did that for me this past Sunday.  You see, every Sunday morning, my Bible time focuses on reading Proverbs. I don’t know why, but

This post marks week three of the unofficial Maddie's in Ireland so what are going to read about? series. Don't worry, I'm not gonna leave you hanging. In fact, this post is less of a post and more of a journal entry. You see, I've recently learned that journaling is helpful for me. It get's all one-thousand-and-one thoughts out of my head. So, I'm going to do something weird - I'm going to let you read some of my entries. (I have a point to this, trust me...) Lord, help me.

A few months ago, I decided to read through the Bible. Chronologically. To take my time with it. Go at my own pace. Suffice to say, I'm still in Genesis (which is why I've been writing about Eden and Abraham and today, Sarah}. But before we get into Sarah, the stressed-out elderly mom-to-be, I have a fun fact for you... With God, names are important. He changed Abram to Abraham (meaning father of many nations ), Saul to Paul, and many more. Including Sarah. Abraham's wife was

What do you do when life seems dark? I ask because, for the past month or so, I've been on a journey of experimenting with my anxiety medication. And well, let's just say that there have been some depressing side effects... That have ultimately led me back to the medicine I started with. But, this season of mental anguish (not exaggerating here; it's weird when a pill makes you euphoric one moment and then depressed the next) has made me learn a lot more about fighting fear.

Chemicals are powerful. There. That’s it; that’s the blog post for this week (I’m kidding, of course). But truth be told, I’m not in the best of moods to be writing right now. Why? You guessed it - chemicals.  But I’m not just talking about the random chemicals that we interact with in our daily lives. No. I’m talking about medical chemicals. The pills and capsules and syrups and all that good stuff.  Because two weeks ago, I started taking a new medication. A type of SSRI, t

This morning I took off my be strong  necklace. It was just a simple silver thing, a tiny pendant inscribed with those two inspiring words in delicate cursive.  And I took it off today. The necklace that I've been wearing daily for well over a year.  That doesn’t sound good, does it?  I removed this necklace because I’m not going to try to be strong anymore. You see, my anxiety has been bad - really bad - for the past four months. And I kept thinking it would get better.  Sur

Do you like feeling tired? I’m asking because I am. Right now. Tired. And I despise it.  You see, I know logically that feeling tired is part of life, part of each day, in fact. Chase a toddler around all day? You’re going to want a nap as soon as he does. Paint for hours on end? Yeah, that’s a lot of brain power being used up.  Or write. Like I am doing now. While I am tired. (This might not be the best idea.) Maybe you’re tired while you’re reading this. The Handiworks by M

Sometimes all you need is a good cry. I don’t really like crying, but it can help an awful lot. Yesterday was tough. My mind was racing with anxious thoughts, leaving me bogged down and sorrowful. Nothing seemed to be going right. Then I went numb. Last night I was working on a digital illustration for the novel I’m writing. After a few hours, I was almost finished. I went to click on another layer of the image and– It shut down. The program closed and when I tried to open it

A lot’s happened in the past week. I finished my finals, which also means I’ve completed my last full semester of college. I also went on a date... …and came back with an amazing BOYFRIEND! Yes, that’s right folks, Maddie Miller is now “in a relationship”. I better change my Facebook status. So, like I said, a lot’s been happening. A lot of good things . But that can mean changes. I don’t like change. I know most of us don’t, but I really despise it. I know part of it’s my O

I was going to write about depression, then I realized that this post is technically my Easter post. And Easter, I hope we can all agree, is not supposed to be depressing. Good Friday, yes, that is sad, but the story doesn’t end with suffering. Nope, definitely not. The cross becomes a Heavenly crown, the grave becomes a garden of love, death becomes life. And we, friends, go from sinners with no hope to saved saints with no fear. Our God is good. (Understatement of the centu