5 Insightful Reasons Why We Should Guard Our Hearts
Have you ever wondered what the Bible means when it tells us to guard our hearts? I wanted to know more about this topic so I researched why we should guard our hearts, what we should guard our hearts against, and how we should guard our hearts? Vines Expository...
5 Ways to Stop Believing Satan’s Lies
Satan tries to get our minds off of Christ by tempting us to believe lies. 1 Peter 5:8 says Satan prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against...
5 Powerful Reasons to Banish Anxiety
So then, banish anxiety from your heart And cast off the troubles of your body. Ecclesiastes 11:10 Is your first thought like mine when you read this verse, I wish it was that easy! While it may sound like we can banish anxiety like the flip of a switch, we...
My Daily Pursuit: Book Review
My Daily Pursuit by A.W. Tozer includes devotions for 365 days that will challenge your heart and mind to grow closer to God. Tozer was a self-taught theologian (I love that he taught himself) who lived from (1897-to 1963) and whose words continue to challenge...
Aggressively Happy: Book Review
Aggressively Happy by Joy Marie Clarkson helps readers discover how to find joy even when life is exhausting and difficult. The title is taken from an internet troll on Twitter, reinforcing the author's intent to not let what happens to you steal your...
A Prayer to Yield my Spirit to Jesus and Find Peace
I wrote this prayer during the Mount Hermon Christian Writer's Conference in 2019. I followed the prayer walk to a waterfall. The words of one of my favorite hymns came to mind as I pictured the deer panting for water. Just as the deer thirsts for water, I longed to...
How to Know When Your Response to Fear is Unhealthy?
Do your emotions confuse you? Do you constantly try and figure out if you're sinning and wonder if you're doing the right thing? When I made the decision to change my life and face my fears, I struggled with my emotions because I still felt afraid. My goal was...
A Prayer for the Hurting
This is a prayer for the hurting. For the ones who are crying out to Jesus when the world sleeps but your mind is wide awake. May we surrender our tears and guard our hearts. I wrote this poem one morning after a restless night. Guarding my heart means making...
God With Us: Book Review
God with Us: 365 Devotions on the Person and Work of Christ is a compilation of readings by classic Christian writers such as John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, D. L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C. S. Lewis, and many more. Justin Holcomb...
Never Leave Me: Book Review
Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund is a time-travel romance taking you back and forth between present day and the Medieval Ages. Ellen Creighton moves into Harrison Burlington's large estate to live out the rest of her days during the last stages of her genetic disease....
The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water: Book Review
The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water by Erin Bartels is a compelling novel with vivid characters and a storyline that kept me wanting to read more. Since I love writing, the main character being a novelist intrigued me. Kendra moves into her grandfather’s old cabin...
God Is My Hiding Place: Book Review
God Is My Hiding Place is a collection of forty daily devotionals based on the writings and experiences of Corrie Ten Boom. With her courageous family, Corrie Ten Boom sheltered Jews from the Nazis during World War II. She wrote about her imprisonment and the...
Prepare Him Room: Book Review
I like to be prepared for upcoming events, tasks, and responsibilities on my calendar. I write lists, make sure the grocery shopping is done ahead of time, and figure out how to get my kids to all their activities. But how often do I consider preparing my heart...
Help, I’m Drowning: Book Review
In her latest book Help, I'm Drowning: Weathering the Storms of Life with Grace and Hope, Sally Clarkson shares foundational truths that helped her gain wisdom and find strength during challenging times. "We all need a fellow struggler who has gone before us through...
How What You Believe About Emotions Affects Your Faith
Nerves twisted through my body as I raised my arms over my head and matched my feet on top of the yellow footprints underneath the airport security scanner. It was my first time traveling on an airplane by myself. I felt like a criminal, surrendering a lifetime of...
The Amazing Blessings and Benefits of Fearing God
Amazing Blessings and Benefits of Fearing God “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his...
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
“What is one of your greatest struggles in your faith?” The silence grew uncomfortably loud as I waited for one of the middle school girls to answer the small group question. I decided to break the ice and share how fear has been my hardest battle. Although I’ve been...
5 Promises to Help you Overcome Insecurity
I’m always surprised to read about characters in the Bible who struggled with insecurity. I guess it’s because I remember their great victories. I remember how Gideon fought a battle of insurmountable odds, winning a vast army with only 300 men. Gideon is mentioned...
The Essential Andrew Murray Collection: Book Review
The Essential Andrew Murray Collection includes three of the author's nineteenth- century classics: Humility, Abiding in Christ, and Living a Prayerful Life. Each of these books are staples to any Christian library and have helped me grow in my relationship...
100 Best Bible Verses to Overcome Worry & Anxiety: Book Review
100 Best Bible Verses to Overcome Worry and Anxiety is a great resource to help turn your thoughts on God's promises when struggling with anxiety and fear. Each one of the 100 entries includes a Bible verse and an explanation of the verse's context and meaning. ...
Subscribe to the newsletter here!
Get free access to a library of printables.
About Me
Hello! I’m Valerie, a busy mother
of four energetic children and
a wife to my husband of 25
years. I write to help others have courageous faith and discover how to trust in God when they are afraid. 
Subscribe
Featured At:
Salt and Light
Subscribe
