messy faith | Jennifer Deibel

Pregnant With Hope

We live in a dark world. A dark world full of dark people capable of unthinkable evil. And hope, like a newly conceived baby, is fragile and can be easily trampled by the realities we face everyday in our neighborhoods, cities and on the television.

It’s easy to let the darkness reign and fill in the cracks where faith can’t provide a tidy answer or wrap life up into a pretty little object lesson with a perfectly packaged solution at the end of the puzzle. Hope gets buried among the grief, disgust and confusion of it all.

What Little League Taught Me About Faith

A soft breeze, warm with the heat of an Arizona October, brushes my face. The scent of stale popcorn, bubble gum, and dust hangs in the air. I squint against the bright sunlight and scan the field. Ah! There he is. My 6-year-old-the-size-of-a-9-year-old has assumed the ready position way out in left field. Again. Never mind the pitcher hasn’t even …

FREE for My Email Subscribers!

Something new here at This Gal’s Journey since we re-launched is I now have an email subscription! Once every couple of weeks, I send out an email with the latest from the blog, my favorite things from around the web, and more! I promise, it’s not spammy at all! And now, for my amazingly awesome subscribers, I have a shiny …

The Blessing of A Bloom

This post first appeared on my old blog a few years ago. It’s message resonated with me today, so I wanted to share it with you again. We planted it back at the beginning of summer. Along with the strawberries that never quite made it, and the sweet pea that bloomed in beauty. It was the first of the three …

When You’re Missing Out on the Blessing

The air hung thick and hot as the sun beat down on my face. The usually dry heat so familiar to this place had given way to a muggy and heavy blanket tucked over the city. On the horizon, circling all around our neighborhood, clouds towered high. Thunderheads rose tall and powerful, teasing with the promise of the sweet relief …

Why I’m Doing the Job I Didn’t Want to Do

I recently accepted a job. This job was an answer to prayer in so many ways—and it’s a job I said I’d never do again. Before we ever went overseas, I taught first grade for a year. That was one tough year. First year teacher, mid-year created class, and a group of students who hadn’t been told why they had …

Prayers with Skin On: An Open Letter to Our Neighbors

Dear Neighbor, I just want to take a moment to say: Thank you. Yes, you with the tween daughter just like mine, who took my girls under her wing and gave them a familiar, friendly face on the first day of school. Who has been that friendly face day in and day out since then — who has opened so …

Getting a Glimpse

Back in December, I posted this on Instagram: We had been back in the States for about 4 months, with zero clue as to what we were doing next. We had no idea if we would head back overseas or stay here in the U.S. I remember during that time, however, I had so many, many moments like the one …

When You’re Not Who You Thought You Were

I slowly sipped the steaming coffee, letting it soothe me with it’s warmth. As I cupped the mug in my hands, my eyes lingered on the faded Scottish flag painted upon it. We had bought it while in Scotland on a work trip back years ago. Back then there was no mistaking the stark white X slicing through the vibrant blue …

When You Realize Your Own Insignificance

I woke up with a jolt. Something wasn’t right. I sat up in bed and surveyed my surroundings. Pale blue light seeped lazily through the slats in the vertical blinds, and my husband slept, undisturbed, next to me. No children stirred down the hall, no bird welcome the day with his song. I’d heard something. It was a pop. Or …

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