Rawr. It's Holly.

I refuse to sink.

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Will You Help Send Me to Welcome the Foreigner?

Will You Help Send Me to Welcome the Foreigner?

Hey, blog followers,

I have an important request.

Many of you have followed me since I started this page as a teenager. It certainly has come a long way. Thanks for sticking with me, especially through periods of inactivity. Since my last peak writing times, I’ve started nursing school & have been very, very busy preparing for the future God has planned for me!

As many of you know, the…

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‘Daughter, Awaken’: A Spoken-Word Encouragement

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Why Pro-Life Applies To Foreigners, Too

Why Pro-Life Applies To Foreigners, Too

I am torn. Absolutely, hopelessly torn. How did I get to this place? One day I’m beholding a wispy black-and-white ultrasound, the echoes of a heartbeat, the dawn of new life – and now I am faced with a choice. There’s not much you can do, a poor girl on the streets of a cold, gray city. Not much at all. As much as I want to love him, I am nothing, I am no one…he would starve. I have tried for…

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Shhh...The Divine Call to Rest

Shhh…The Divine Call to Rest

In the last scene of Act I of Hamilton is a song called “Non-Stop.” It details Alexander Hamilton’s political rise-to-the-top, starting with his post-war return to New York. There, he flourishes as a law student and distinguished lawyer. Then, he serves as a junior delegate to the Constitutional Convention, where he proposes a new form of government and a plan to improve the Constitution. In his…

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Prayer & Parkland: Implications of Schoolwide Prayer in Light of the Tragedy

May I begin by respectfully discrediting a popular misconception? It is not a conduct infraction in public high schools to carry a Bible. It is not even an infraction to openly read the Bible. Actually, it’s not even an infraction to talk about Jesus in school. In fact, in public school, students are free to hold Bible studies in a classroom during lunch. So, respectfully, to all those wondering…

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Echoes from Untravelled Paths: Pondering Immigrants & the Church

My grandpa died two years before I was born. Family members have told me how much I would have loved and enjoyed him, and how much he would have loved me. He never knew I existed. Our worlds are separated by a chasm of time. Yet, strangely…I’ve always felt something like…I don’t know. Like I kind of miss him. The feeling isn’t limited to my relationship with my grandpa. A prime struggle of mine…

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Poor Widow, Priceless Worship: Yes, Your Gift Is Worth It

Poor Widow, Priceless Worship: Yes, Your Gift Is Worth It

Hey, to the person reading this who’s on the brink of giving up offering that one gift because you don’t see it making that much of a difference – don’t. Don’t give it up!   Summer was busy for me. In fact, by some crazy circumstances, I think I actually posted more last school year than I did all summer. Who knows how that happened. But would you believe – confession time – I’ve been blowing off…

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Why Say "From The Inside Out?" Thoughts on God's Heart-Changing Ways

Why Say “From The Inside Out?” Thoughts on God’s Heart-Changing Ways

To-do lists can be exciting…if you’re in the right mood. Moi, I like making to-do lists. I like writing my tasks out on a dry erase board, filling it up to just the point of being overwhelmed, and then running my finger across the jobs I’ve done to erase them till only a few lines remain. A checkmark in a box doesn’t sit well with me; it doesn’t make the list any smaller. Watching the list…

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Mind Over Matter, Most High Over Mind

Mind Over Matter, Most High Over Mind

Well, I was going to open this blog with a joke about using the phrase “my bad” at a funeral, but I got distracted when I accidentally pressed my caps lock key with my left pinky and, fascinated, began pressing it in rapid succession to watch it light up and un-light and light up and un-light and light up and un-light…   And then I was like, well heyyyy, wouldja look at that, a prime example of…

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"Meets Expectations": Thoughts on Perfection & Ferret Toys

“Meets Expectations”: Thoughts on Perfection & Ferret Toys

Oh, what sweet revelations come through tears.   You wouldn’t believe how much I cry. That’s a bold statement, but I’m a girl. I cry. A lot. It’s not because I’m a depressed person – anyone who knows me knows that I have my problems, but as long as I’m laying them at the feet of God, I’m usually pretty happy. It’s when I’m stressed when I start crying.   And whether they’re a crybaby or a 24/7…

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From Setbacks To Sunshine & The Only One Who Satisfies

From Setbacks To Sunshine & The Only One Who Satisfies

Do you ever have days that start off well, but then you hit a bump in the road and only go downhill from there? Of course you do. You’re human. (Hopefully.) It’s natural.   I’ll be blunt: Today was one of those days for me. My morning was top-notch, as I had the fantastic opportunity to participate in the schoolwide sidewalk art show in place of my normal classes. But from there, things started…

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Devastation In Italy: "You Will Be Called Repairer of Broken Walls..."

Devastation In Italy: “You Will Be Called Repairer of Broken Walls…”

Six-point-two-magnitude earthquake in central Italy. At least 247 lives taken. Towns turned to rubble. Aftershock effects estimated for the next ten years. Complete and utter devastation. I couldn’t help but sigh as a survivor described the wreckage to TV reporters: “These people need hope,” he said. “There’s not very much hope for a lot of these people right now.”   My heart was breaking.  …

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"Doers" For The Least Of These: Why Serving The Poor Is Never In Vain

“Doers” For The Least Of These: Why Serving The Poor Is Never In Vain

Job makes an interesting declaration in Job 31:16-23 (emphasis mine): “If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, If I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless – but from my youth I reared them as a father would, and from my birth I guided the widow – If I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing, or the needy without garments,…

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Mini-Blog: The Book That Speaks Multitudes

Mini-Blog: The Book That Speaks Multitudes

First off, I’d like to lift up a joyful hallelujah to the Lord for the huge success of our church VBS! So many children came in need of the message and took it to heart. As our children’s pastor put it, the facility was full of “disciples making disciples,” which is truly a beautiful, spiritual experience – for everyone! I am so grateful to God and to everyone who prayed for and made this VBS…

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Saturday Night Reflection: Life, Love & Leaving

Saturday Night Reflection: Life, Love & Leaving

It always astounds me when a new acquaintance tells me they’ve been living in our little town their entire life. I mean, yeah, it’s a great town. It’s a family town where there’s something for everyone. But it amazes me that these people have never felt the urge to get out and explore the world.   While many of my peers share a similar view, I feel that I sometimes obsess over it, which isn’t…

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The Christian Approach To Arguments

The Christian Approach To Arguments

As a teenager growing up in an American public school, I’ve seen religious debate firsthand. No, it’s not apologetics or anything, but when two teenagers have conflicting viewpoints and they decide to go at it, it gets fiery. There’s nothing quite like it. Teenagers will argue about everything, but when it comes to personal beliefs, especially when one has a strong conviction of truth, it gets…

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Five Biblical Tenets of Ministering to Outsiders: The Urgency

Five Biblical Tenets of Ministering to Outsiders: The Urgency

There are countless ways we minister to each other within the church as the body of Christ. This isn’t wrong; ministry to the body of believers is a crucial part of following God’s word as a Christian. However, being swallowed up in all the inter-believer ministries we have, we often miss the vitality and urgency of ministry to outsiders – non-Christians, members of other religions, and really…

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