The (in)courage Podcast

"I’d spent so much time in my life moving that I forgot what it was like to let my heart be still in the space I called home. As I prayed, the idea that came to the surface was the encouragement to make a home. To settle down and settle in. It felt a little silly, but I realized how much I'd been waiting for something to shift and for my heart to be uprooted all over again. I'd spent so much time in my life moving th...

Every Season Sacred: Reflections, Prayers, and Invitations to Nourish Your Soul and Nurture Your Family Throughout the Years by Kayla Craig is a weekly invitation for parents to ask big questions, embrace faithful rhythms, and experience God’s mysterious, loving presence together. Every week, Every Season Sacred includes:

• Honest & hopeful devotions for every season of the parenting journey
• Encouragement to parent with intenti...

The greatest weapon blocking what God is building in your life is worry. As an ambitious woman daring to believe bigger about who you are and what Heaven has for you, you have much on your mind. Dreams, goals, responsibilities, mission-building, and a to-do list that never ends. Our mental stress can cause our eyes to default to what is wrong or missing versus seeing what God is sending.

In her new book, Daily Blessings: ...

"We can embrace the fantastic, messy, holy mysteries of faith in every season. Borrow this prayer:
 
 O God of mystery, hear our prayer. Comfort us in our doubts. Give us peace when we don’t know what comes next. We know our lives are but a vapor, but we also know that in the mist, You are there.
 
 Help us to live into the mystery of a life of faith. Let us embrace the beauty in the unknowing. Give our family ...

"The exhausting cycle of packed days, stressed-out kids, and emotional meltdowns was not going to change until rest became a central factor in our lives. I needed to pivot, to transform the way I approached parenting.
 
 My realization came one day as I was reading Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (NIV).
 
 Jesus' words struck a chord deep withi...

"Only in Christ, will we ever be satisfied and fulfilled. The only secret to being everything and everywhere all at once is realizing that, only in Christ, will we ever be satisfied and fulfilled. Only in Him will we experience the greatest depth and width and height of life. Only in Him can we be everything we were ever created to be.
 
 It's no secret and it's no superpower.
 
 To be with Him is to ...

Choosing to see life through the lens of appreciation, affirmation, and gratitude (instead of lack and loss) is how we renew our minds to align with the Holy Spirit. It’s how we learn to see that God really is always with us. This awareness . . . this intentional discipline of holy mindfulness . . . is how we learn to abide."

Leave a comment for Marshawn, and enter to WIN a copy of her new mindfulness journal, Daily B...

"If you are in a season of growing, doing things beyond others’ expectations, beyond the safety of what you are “supposed” to be doing, that will make you vulnerable when the storm comes.
 
 My strategy when I’m taking risks is to hang out with others who are doing the same. We can support each other and hold each other up."

Leave a comment for Kathi: https://incourage.me/?p=234934
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The fall iss...

"One day “how much longer” will be no longer.
 
  One day, everything will be colored the shade of restoration.
 
  But for today, we hope. We pray “on earth as it is in heaven.” We remember that God will not be rushed, but neither will He be late. We wait and we trust and we find that it’s true: God really is going to carry us through."
 
 Leave a comment for Kaitlyn: https://incourage.me/?p=234...

"He’s the sort of God who finds us there on the raw edge of all that splinters and dead-weights. As a college student, spending countless hours with open Bible and face pressed to the carpet, you couldn’t yet see how you’d need the things that crack you wide open to help you remember you know God differently on your knees. But now you see the gift in seasons of stretched-out waiting, urgent praying, and good things breaking. B...

"Motivation may ebb and flow, but purpose remains constant. In a world that constantly preaches the gospel of motivation, I sometimes find myself seeking that fleeting feeling of enthusiasm and inspiration to propel me in my purpose. I look for external factors to ignite the fire within, to keep me going when the journey gets tough. For example, I often wonder if earning a lot more money would make me feel validated and stimul...

"What would happen if we treated every “new kid” (young or old ) as wanted, welcomed, delighted in?
 
 Sit with that for a minute.
 
 Often, when we think of encouragement, we think of building up, complimenting, or supporting the people already intertwined in our lives -- our spouse or sibling, child or parent, coworker or best friend. That is so good and beautiful and necessary. But at its core, encouragement...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 CSB
 
 As we remember those we lo...

Listen in to this conversation about the new book, From Where I Stand: A 30-Day Journey with Women of the Bible, written by two of our favorite writers, Sherri Gragg and Shanna Noel.

This book invites you to trace the footsteps of ordinary women who faced unique challenges, endured extraordinary circumstances, and encountered the living God.

They are the long-suffering, courageous, flawed, and faithful women of the Bible. I...

"May we all pay attention to the shifts within us. Perhaps God is inviting us to something more or different or new, and whether we whisper it quietly to ourselves or say it out loud for all to hear, I hope we can respond with our whole hearts, 'Yes.'"

Leave a comment for Grace: https://incourage.me/?p=234788
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It’s always a great day when a little Hope & Encouragement comes your way. . . e...

"Mommas, take a deep cleansing breath with me. Let's unclench our fists, raise our open hands, and release our adult children to Him -- our Abba Father, Healer, Rescuer, the One who takes this often topsy-turvy world and makes sense of it. Take Heart. He can and will do it!!
 
 My prayer is that all of us will be able to proclaim, 'I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth&a...

"So often in life, goodness sprouts up from things we would never choose. Think back on your own life and the circumstances you would never choose . . . can you see the beauty? Can you see the goodness that came from that job you didn’t get or that relationship that started out on a rocky foot? Can you see the blessing that sprouted from that difficult diagnosis or cross-country move or brutal season in parenting?
 
 W...

"This is the love story of Scripture from beginning to end: a loving God gives life. Against all odds. Despite every mistake and in defiance of each regret...
 
 Life wins.
 
 And this is the love story of Scripture from beginning to end: a loving God gives life. The accuser attacks, bringing death. For a time, it seems all hope is gone.
 
 But God always has the last word."

Leave a commen...

"I’m already loved, and I am a force for good. Maybe you’ve tried to be a good girl like me, and you’re ready for something new. If so, Jesus wants to set your heart free from every lie that has held you back too.
 
 Let’s believe we’re already loved.
 
 Let’s stop trying to be 'good girls.'
 
 Let’s be unstoppable forces for good."

Leave a comment for Holley: https://incourage.m...