Jenna Brooke Carlson

Dear Cherished Child, You don’t have to do anything to make God love you. He already does. He already did, when he knit you together in your mother’s womb. The love of this world can be conditional, but not God’s love. His love is unconditional. There’s nothing you can say. There’s nothing you can do to make him stop loving you. Live like you’re cherished, child. Dance in his radiant love for you. Or if that seems like too much, curl up in his embrace. Know when you are lying there hurting, his strong arms are wrapped around you. He cares for you deeply, especially when the sin and darkness…

Dear FOMO, Fear of missing out does make me miss out, miss out on taking care of myself. The pressure you give me to say yes even when I know I should say no is too much. It’s overwhelming. I have a new fear, fear of pushing myself so far I’ll be lying on the floor unable to get up and do any good or be any good. I’m giving myself permission, permission to miss out to avoid being worn out. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Sometimes I’ll say no to good things and good people, but I’m only human after all, not the energizer bunny. And God designed humans…

Dear Little Light, I see you there, deep inside of me trying to burn bright for the whole world to see. But it’s hard. Because you’re so small, and anytime you start to burn brighter I feel like I need to protect you, shield you, cover you because it seems a brisk winter wind could distinguish you in an instant. But your source is indistinguishable. He’s strong. He’s power. He’s the God of the Universe. He’s put you deep in my soul to help a hurting world with hurting people who need you. Shine bright, little light. And if the wind of shame or insufficiency tries to blow you out,…

Dear Worn-Out Warrior, You’ve been striving so long. You’re so tired. Lay down the useless weapons you’ve been trying to use to fight this battle and rest. Take care of yourself. You’re no good to anyone when you’re living as a shadow of yourself. Yes, God cares about all you have to do and who you need to do it for, but he also cares about you. God doesn’t call us to be an unrelenting zombie, plodding through life as an exhausted version of ourselves. He calls us to nourish our minds, bodies, and souls. You know this pace is not sustainable. You weren’t created to go at this speed.…

Dear Discouraged Dreamer, Living out your dreams is hard. That’s probably why it’s called a dream. But I know God has put that gut-burning, soul-yearning dream inside of you, and He’s not going to let you down. It might not look how you thought it would look. It might not happen when you thought it would happen. It might not be what you thought it would be, but nothing will stop God’s plan for you. That thing you so desperately want to do or happen or be, God knows about it. There’s probably a good chance he’s gifted you for it, and there’s an even better chance it’s not going how you thought it would go. God’s…