Hope Archives | All The More: Collective Blog

Christmas: An Annual Reminder that Jesus Doesn’t Cancel Us

December 17, 2021 Bailey Lenzen 4 min read

Our culture has become quite confident in its ability to determine who should get a second chance and who should not. How dare they, right? The “cancel culture” nonsense has really gotten out of hand. Maybe. But what if you and I are just as guilty of trying to be an arbiter of who is right and who is wrong? Even as Christ-followers, we find time and time again that we too desire to take on this role of God. We want to be in control. We want to be The Judge. In fact, if we’re honest, we believe we are a GOOD Judge. I cannot deny that deep down, a sinful part of me believes I am the best arbiter not only of what is best for me, but of what is best for other people I love, and even for the whole of society. Since we love to […]

Tomorrow Is Not Promised

August 6, 2021 MJ Villatoro 3 min read

man riding black motorcycle on road between forest

If you ask most people what dealing with a worldwide pandemic has taught them, I’m sure many would say that they have learned that tomorrow is not promised. Life is so fragile, so it’s important to show love to those you care about while they are still here. Changed In An Instant They say life can change in the blink of an eye – in an instant. My family was reminded of this a few years back when my dad was involved in a terrible accident. My mom had gotten a phone call that my dad was the victim of a hit and run, and that she needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. We knew my dad had been riding his motorcycle, so we feared the worst. When we got to the hospital, they were in the middle of performing life-saving surgery on my dad. He […]

Healing when I’d lost hope

February 5, 2021 MJ Villatoro 3 min read

Have you ever gone through a trial that seemed like it was just too much to bear? I have. Seven years ago, I had hit rock bottom. My marriage had completely fallen apart, and as a result, after five “good years” I began to wrestle with self-harm again. To be honest, I was a complete mess. At that time in my life, I struggled a lot. The pain felt unbearable. I was having a hard time pushing through each day, and most nights I barely slept at all. I clearly remember one sleepless night when I was sitting at my kitchen table crying out to God, asking Him to help me get through it all. After praying about it for a while, I did what we all do when we can’t sleep and scrolled through Facebook. As it turned out, while I was praying for some words of hope to […]

More Than a Promise

December 25, 2020 TaKasha Smith 3 min read

It’s that time again. Christmas is often either a favorite or most dreaded time of the year. Christmas is for hot chocolate and mistletoe. Family and loved ones. Lights and gifts. For some people, it is a magical season full of warm memories, hopeful feelings, and fond family affairs. For others, Christmas aims a spotlight at life’s unfulfilled wishes. For me, it’s a little of both, but I have grown to appreciate that. I can appreciate the sweet memories I make and still long for something more. The older I’ve gotten, the more I realize this tension is the perfect picture of Christmas. Instead of dreading the duality of feelings, I let them remind me of the complicated, miraculous, and life-changing truth of ‘already and not yet.’ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with […]

The Solid Rock

September 16, 2019 Jenny McCarty 3 min read

I believe God wants what is best for us, God cares about each of us individually, and He has a good plan for us. Over the past year, my spiritual journey had its ups and downs and at times, doubt would creep in my mind here and there to the point where I found it hard to believe I had written a blog called, “God is always good.” I would think to myself: “I know He is good, but the world isn’t. How can I trust Him when I experience things that are not good?” My questioning led to a path of searching for answers from people and books, but most of those times, they would leave me feeling half full–I still could not trust the answers from a fallen world. I don’t have all the answers to my questions, to the suffering around me, my searching heart. I may […]

Why aren’t we talking about the Resurrection?

April 12, 2019 Rachel Marissa 2 min read

I think it’s interesting how often I hear people (myself included) praying, “Thank You, Jesus, for dying for my sin. Thank You for your sacrifice,” and how little I hear, “Jesus, thank You for raising to life! You are alive!”

Stop fighting for your seat.

March 23, 2018 Kelli Chase 3 min read

Why was it that finding a seat in the lunchroom was one of those monumental moments, not only in books or hollywood, but also in reality?

Unmet Desire

December 8, 2017 TaKasha Smith 3 min read

“It is of the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.” – Aristotle

If you doubt God, you are not alone

July 7, 2017 Katie Bajorek 4 min read

7:09 AM: “Dad is having jaw and chest pains. He says they went away now. I wanted to take him to ER.” I was receiving report on patients when I got this message from my mom. My heart sank. I called her immediately. She told me some more scary details: numbness in his left arm, sharp pains, sweating. She told me they were on their way to the emergency room.

Waiting and Wading

December 30, 2016 TaKasha Smith 5 min read

I’m currently wading in the most difficult season of my life. Waves the size of all my hopes, dreams, and fears threaten to drown me everyday. Every day, I am reminded of the safety in not trying and in the predictable comfort of a life that requires no lifeguard’s watch, no fear, and little excitement. Sometimes, I think it might have been better if I had chosen a safer path, something that required less of me. I could have stood on the shoreline and looked out at the people who dared to swim. After all, it’s pretty hard to drown when you’re standing on the sand.

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