In a recent Wall Street Journal article, therapists shared their favorite coping strategies for anxiety. They include normal recommendations like sleep and exercise, and surprising ones like looking at memes of pets, jumping off of cliffs on vacation, breathing slowly to classical music, and spending time with tomato plants. I see nothing wrong with these […]
Fresh Encouragement

Kevin /
Recommended Links for June 2023
Happy June everybody! Two Fridays ago I had a new nephew born into the family and also went to the memorial service for a dear friend’s mother. A strange mixture of joy and grief in one day. It gave me a renewed sense of my mortality and also caused me to reflect on these two […]

Kevin /
31 Ways God Can Use Your Suffering for Good
What follows is a list I wrote as an appendix of God’s Purpose for Your Suffering, a new volume of sermons by Charles Spurgeon. Why does God allow our suffering? While Scripture doesn’t speak to our individual situations, it does speak to general reasons God may allow us to enter the furnace of affliction. Here […]

Kevin /
A Prayer to Not Waste Your Suffering
Heavenly Father, You know the pain I’m going through. You know how long this suffering has weighed on me. I need Your help, not only to persevere, but to keep my eyes on You. This trial seems pointless, but I know You have a purpose even if I can’t see it. You’re too wise, powerful, […]

Kevin /
God’s Purpose for Your Suffering
What follows is the introduction for God’s Purpose for Your Suffering by Charles Spurgeon. When we suffer, the question we all ponder is Why? While we may not know exactly what God is up to in our suffering and trials, we can rest confident that He does have a purpose. Knowing this gives us hope. […]