Friday, January 24, 2020, marked the 47th annual March for Life in Washington, DC. Each year, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children walk in protest through Capitol Hill on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortions across America. This year’s march theme focused on the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in 1920.

My husband and I have been married for 19.5 years. That .5 is worth noting, based on the shape of our last year.

The truth is, while the lyrics are terrible, Pat Benatar got pretty close—love (in marriage) is a battlefield.

For me, 2019 brought nearly every major life change a person can encounter condensed into a short amount of time. We moved, bought a house, my husband began his first call, we had a baby. In the midst of those big things, I was surviving by abiding. I was learning what it meant to abide in Jesus when I felt as if I couldn’t string two coherent thoughts together at any given moment. I was learning to accept and extend more grace for myself than I ever thought possible. It was Gospel living at its most extreme. Now, we are done moving, the baby is six months old somehow, and we are settling into a new routine. It’s good. This new routine brings with it some breathing room, some space to not just survive but to strive.

His heart was racing, beating like a rabbit running for its very life. His mind was like a browser with too many tabs open, and he couldn’t seem to focus on anything. He knew he was overwhelmed, and the thought of doing one more thing was literally terrifying. How had it come to this? Wasn’t this stage of his life supposed to be the best yet? He was beginning to think life was full of lies and competing messages, each louder than the one before. He felt incredibly alone and sad. The only option seemed like sleep, or at the very least, Netflix or YouTube—anything to escape his own head for a while.

Dating is tricky and very complicated. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration. There are so many ways to meet someone these days: online, through an app, by speed dating, being set up on a blind date, and more. From there, though, you are talking to a complete stranger. Many people gauge dating potential by physical looks, charming character, or a great sense of humor. But what about the person’s religion? Does that have any effect on your dating decisions?

About a month ago, my husband and I were talking after our post-dinner devotions. I was telling him how I felt like I was lacking in my faith walk—like I was going through the motions, saying that things between God and myself were good when in reality, I was treating Him more like a friend who I’d lost touch with (but still loved very much).

There’s nothing more special than receiving a brand-new book, especially when you live where they are hard to come across. In America, we are fortunate to have a plethora of books to choose from in local libraries or to buy, but for some people in developing countries, that simply isn’t the case. Students at Lutheran High School North in St. Louis wanted to help send books to Africa to spread the joy of reading to those who might not get the opportunity to have books.

The year is coming to an end. At the beginning of 2019, many of us set resolutions or goals for ourselves. You may have chosen to try and lose those extra pounds or to put more money away to save up for something big. Continuing to work toward a goal for 365 days is a big task. Lots of people (including myself) have trouble executing this. Throughout the year, things come up that you may not expect. Your life may alter a bit, and your attention can’t always be focused on that goal you set for yourself in January. By the time you get to December, you see your resolution fading. You may be asking, “Why didn’t I try harder?” or “Am I weak?”

You may remember that during the 2019 National Youth Gathering, participants from around the country helped us to pack twenty-six tons of Bibles, books, and other Christ-centered resources. These boxes were sent out to the 1,500 congregations that participated in NYG to encourage evangelism within their own communities.