My husband, Scott, and I have two wonderful teenage boys. Though they bring us joy and love, they can also be a source of frustration and stress. They both just turned 18 and graduated high school. So…

My heart was pounding, and my breathing was extremely labored as the blood was racing through my veins to distribute the much-needed oxygen throughout my body, especially to the oxygen-starved muscles in my legs. I wasn’t in mountain shape…

The word “rest” is used in so many different ways. We go to a RESTaurant to have a meal; we use a REST area when traveling; we go to the RESTroom when necessary … But what does it really mean?

In our culture, we have a problem with REST. I don’t think it’s farfetched to say that our lives are more hurried and worn out than ever before. Because of the speed at which we live our lives, we find ourselves emotionally drained, mentally…

In my late thirties I was body-slammed by the very real consequences of my workaholic inclination. It was a long time coming. It began back in junior high school. …

Over the years I have found that if I don’t have the proper amount of God given rest, I cannot be at my best. I become cranky, irritable, short-fused and can’t focus. We, as a society, overwork and …

Jesus invites us: “Come with me by yourself to a quiet place and get some rest.” (portion of Mark 6:31 NIV) Have you responded to Jesus' invitation? He is waiting for you. Just a couple weeks ago …

Where do you feel most “at rest” ... that place where your heart rate slows, you breathe deeply, and every anxious thought just melts away? …

In my younger years, I remember hearing the initials RSVP and later came to understand that they were an important part of an invitation. Is etiquette a fast-fading part of our culture? Few people respond with an RSVP anymore when invited to a significant event. For whatever reason, little thought is given to formally respond with a ‘yes’ or a ‘thank you, but no’ to an invitation.

How often have you heard these words spoken by a friend, “I’m so tired,” or “I don’t have enough time to rest”? How often have you thought or spoken those very words about your own life? A more important question is, “How often do I make time to truly rest?”

It has always annoyed me when people use the phrase, “The patience of Job.” To me, Job persevered! Patience means the ability to wait nicely, and Job’s situation was far from nice. …Speaking candidly, I am not a patient person.

Last summer my kids and I finished a project that we had been working on for a very long time! Approximately five years ago, I learned that my grandpa’s 1951 John Deere MT tractor was still in the family. … for 30 years it sat unused and exposed to the elements. When I learned of it from my Uncle Don, I immediately asked him if I could restore it. What a wonderful opportunity…

Brothers and sisters … warn … encourage … take tender care … Be patient with everyone. ~Paul

Whether waiting in stalled traffic, a long checkout line…

My office moved to a new location the other day – packing up one space and then unpacking, trying to get the phones and copy machine …

I am gifted with impatience. Patience is not my natural state. As a kid playing baseball, I never could wait for the right pitch. On every team I possessed both the homerun record and the strikeout record simultaneously! As a young man in Army basic training, from day one, we lived the military maxim: “Hurry up and wait!” I vividly remember Drill Sergeant Greathouse …

The word patience is defined as "The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset." It is waiting with grace. Would you characterize yourself as a patient person? Or are you like me – it depends on the situation? Sitting in traffic…

Some of my earliest memories are the drives to my grandparents’ house, who lived an hour away. It always seemed like it took forever to get there and I’m confident I asked the popular question a million times throughout the years, “Are we there yet?”

Waiting…

Soon after I was immersed in my senior year of undergrad, I heard a challenging sermon on patience. On the day I prayed for patience in my morning devotions, I had not one, but two flat tires! And I stopped praying for patience. What is patience with God? In a single word, it is waiting. From the opening pages of Scripture…

As we prepare to celebrate Memorial Day on Monday I have been thinking about its origin and our observance of it. … As I was thinking about this change in the way Memorial Day is celebrated, I was reminded of Nehemiah 8:14-17 when the Israelites realized something of greater importance had been forgotten. …

Life is full of prioritizing! We all make many everyday decisions that require us to identify what is of greater importance. … At e2 we frequently get calls from elder teams or church staff asking for help to sort through priorities. We love those calls! …