Page 8 – All The More: Collective Blog

Jesus, Our Hope for a New Year

January 15, 2021 Rachel Guerrero 4 min read

person wearing silver ring on ring finger on book page

It’s easy to search for hope and fulfillment in a new year. If only I had a new routine, a better diet, a cleaner house, more money, a better social life, or more me-time. If these things changed, I’d finally feel happy and at rest, right?! New Year’s resolutions are great, I’m not trying to knock them. It’s an admirable desire to grow, mature, and love more in the upcoming year. Desiring to live a life that pleases God, live with purpose and meaning, and be godly are all good things. They are given to us by God. The problem with those is not the destination of living a life pleasing to God, but the means by which we get there. The problem lies in the push to do everything and be better in our own strength and for the purpose of self-glory instead of God’s glory. And what happens […]

Don’t You See? God’s Design is Everywhere.

January 8, 2021 Bailey Lenzen 3 min read

What did you notice in 2020 that seemed designed by God? Despite the uniqueness of 2020, God has undoubtedly answered prayers in our families, communities, and in our own hearts. Indeed, God has designed some of this year for our good. For me, in the past several months, I have been inundated with obvious ways God is at work around me. He has given me a lot of merciful clarity and peace on my vocation and about the people he has put in front of me, even in a time where we can’t be around that many people. In the midst of this, I have been reading Esther with several college women over the past two months. This Old Testament book takes a deeper investigation to see God in the text through the events surrounding the two main characters in the book, Esther and Mordecai. The answers aren’t obvious like […]

Top 5 Blogs of 2020

January 1, 2021 Bailey Lenzen 3 min read

At All The More, 2020 gave us a deeper belief in our mission to encourage one another, all the more (Hebrews 10:23) via our online community. This year brought many new milestones — hiring our first employee, Kylie, launching our first book study on the Book of Psalms, and bringing on new contributors from outside of the U.S. We have much to be grateful for in this community, and that includes these top 5 blogs of the year that encouraged you — our readers — greatly. It encouraged us as well! So, without further ado: Our most-read blog of 2020: What I’ve Learned in 10 Years of Marriage by Natalie Mayo “A spouse who loves Jesus more than they love you can ultimately love you with a truer and deeper love that comes not from their own volition, but from God. His love is truly never-ending and far better than […]

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 […]

Home for Christmas

December 18, 2020 Kathryn Pesyna 3 min read

The pandemic has brought about a lot of changes this year. For one, it has invoked a whole new meaning to the phrase “home for Christmas.” Sure, our holiday plans look quite a bit different this year, but one of my primary laments is I deeply miss church. Many parts of the United States differ in their various COVID restrictions, but where I live in California, we have not been able to gather as a Body since March. Our church is one of the larger churches in San Jose, so we have had the ability and resources to produce a lovely online service. We can still have “church from home.” We still have worship. Our pastors still teach and speak to our hearts. We have had baptisms and guest speakers and missions updates. We take communion – separate but together. We meet for Bible studies, prayer groups, and other ministries […]

Changing the Narrative: From Our Imperfect Story to His Redemptive Plan

December 11, 2020 Brittney Elizabeth 4 min read

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. A season overflowing with joy and gratitude as we reveal in belonging, surrounded by our loved ones. With long-standing family traditions and the anticipation of creating new memories, it all seems so festive, so perfect—but not for everyone. For some, it’s a season defined by grief, reminded of the things that are no longer and the things they have yet to experience. My Internal Story I feel so alone. Fear not, for I am with you. I feel forgotten. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands. I feel abandoned. I have loved you with an everlasting love. Grief has been my quiet companion. It waits for me when I wake up and lingers as the day ends. It accompanies me every single day, demanding to be seen, heard, and felt. With unexpected family turmoil, reminders of hopes deferred, […]

God is moving to the ends of the earth right now – even tiny cafes in The Netherlands

December 4, 2020 Rachel Marissa 4 min read

We met in a typical Dutch cafe in the middle-of-the-day Tuesday before Christmas. “It was really nice to hear how you ordered an Americano in English. I always knew I was saying it wrong!”, she smiled and approached me. “Pardon?”, I asked. “Why, yes!” (Explains Dutch vs. English pronunciation.) “What is your favorite drink to order here?”, I laughed. Zoe was the nicest Dutch woman, heck – one of the nicest people I’d ever met. Her personality was welcoming and eccentric. As a psychology professor who believed in good books and lattes, she definitely looked the part: shoulder-length reddish, unruly hair, and large crooked glasses. She was turning 38 the same exact day I was turning 23. Besides sharing a December 30th birthday, we had many other common interests. Coffee “made wrong” (pictured above), museums, travel, bucket lists, reflection, friendship, the newspaper, research, and freedom for women all over the […]

Add to your Faith: Perseverance

November 27, 2020 Eileen Drake 3 min read

When was the last time you persevered through something difficult? Or perhaps persevered through temptation? Last week, a few months ago, a year ago? I like Webster’s definition of perseverance – “The quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult.” The exhortation to persevere through sin is something that has popped up for me recently reading through scripture and other readings. Jesus told his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to stay awake with Him as He was seeking and praying to God the Father about the cup he was to bear (His death). Jesus informed Peter, James, and John, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.“ (Matthew 26:41, NKJV) I can rest assured according to God’s true and rich Word that my spirit is willing to obey! In 2 Peter 1:3, we are informed that “His [the Lord’s] divine […]

Struggling to be thankful? Know the Story of God.

November 20, 2020 Natalie Mayo 3 min read

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. — Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. — To him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136:1-2, 4 At our family Thanksgiving dinner, we go around the table and share something from the past year that we’re grateful for (I know, creative, right?!). There’s something beautiful about a holiday built into our calendars to encourage us to take the time to stop, remember, and respond in gratitude to our God. And it helps to have friends, family, and some good Thanksgiving sides around, too. But thankfulness may be hard to come by this year. How can we be grateful in this season of what may feel like chaos or confusion? How can we be thankful in sorrows, hardship, or anger? How do […]

What will remain when you’re gone?

November 13, 2020 MJ Villatoro 3 min read

The best memories of my childhood took place in a greenhouse right around the corner from my own home. My grandparent’s house. Memories of catching lightning bugs in their yard on humid August evenings. Sleep-overs in their guest room with the best thick shakes and countless rounds of Skip-bo. Pot Roast dinners around their table on Sunday afternoons, with my Grandma’s famous homemade gravy. Yes, as a child, going to my grandparent’s house was always special. Not because of what they had, but simply because they were there. My Grandpa had a woodshop in his garage and I used to love watching him work. Mostly, because I could always convince him that my Barbie dolls needed a new bed or couch. I can still imagine him putting aside the cabinets he was working on to measure my dolls and make their furniture for me. My Grandma was always in her […]

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