When we are weighed down by painful burdens, it can feel like we are ultimately alone in our sorrow. With our individual sufferings and personal situations, it is easy to find ourselves in a pit of despair and think that nobody can understand what we are going through. To some extent this may be true, but we are not alone in the endurance of suffering.

Epilepsy is “a neurological disorder that causes seizures or unusual sensations and behaviors.” It involves misfiring signals in your brain that can cause your lip to twitch or you to fall out of your seat. When I was three-and-a-half years old, I was diagnosed with Continuous Spike-wave Discharge During Sleep (CSWDDS), which is a unique form of epilepsy.

“But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’ … And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, ‘Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.’ And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.”  - 1 Kings 19:4-8, ESV

You may have heard that there are prayer and worship nights during the week on campus. These meetings were first held by students at TFC starting four years ago in the Forrest pingpong room! Through hard work and God’s grace, they have continued to grow along the way.

Often, I find myself unable to know what to say to God. So emotionally and mentally drained that I have trouble seeking and understanding His voice and the words I know He is speaking to me.

The simple act of being kind in your patience is an encouragement to everyone you come across; it brings people peace.

I have struggled with seeing the kindness of God before. In so many situations, I have found myself asking God to show me his kindness and coming up empty. I have found myself wondering how certain situations were anything other than cruel. But this past weekend, I had an encounter with God that wrecked these doubts and questions of mine. 

I want to challenge you to be uncomfortable in your faith. I heard the saying once that “if you’re not uncomfortable in your faith, you’re not growing.” My friends, we should never stop growing in our love and relationship with God.

When I opened my eyes and looked to my right, I saw Jesus. He sat beside me on that swing and had his arm over my shoulders, pulling me into a comforting embrace. I sat there beside him for a long time. His presence there told me a number of things, but the most obvious was this: “I am always here. I never leave you.”

To the girl with a hurting heart, to the boy with disappointment resurfacing, to the ones who hold on to that pain, comparing themselves to others, asking God “why not” and letting fear of rejection take root, this is for you.

To the ones who’ve lost themselves.

They say it clings closely, but maybe I’m the one holding on.

Our society places a premium on dreams. Our identity as teens and adults is tied to who we would like to become and what we want to do. But what happens when your dreams do not measure up with reality?

The final week of the Lenten Journey is here, and as our journey comes to an end, we want to remember and celebrate the event that changed human history forever: the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

I do not know about you, but loneliness has hit home hard for me this semester. It just so happened that it took the loneliest year of my life to truly mean the words: “there’s no place I would rather be,” when I am in the Lord’s presence.

A few weekends ago, a few of us TFC students went down to Orlando, Florida to attend a conference called “The Send.” This conference centered on the calling of every believer to take action in their faith.

History repeats itself over and over again, and it seems that it will never have a happy ending. That is the lie that the enemy wants this world to believe. The only way to break these bonds of death is by proclaiming the truth that is embodied in the Scripture: God loves humanity.

Sometimes, one might question why the Friday before Easter is considered “Good Friday.” When you think about it, death is a tragic and horrible end to Jesus being ruthlessly tortured, when He did nothing wrong, then nailed to the cross for transgressions that were not His.