And This Is Love

And This Is Love

We recently did a pretty crazy thing in Peringer household. We invited two other adults, two toddlers, and a puppy to join our family that is comprised of three under the age of four, myself and my husband, and a rambunctiously, sweet six month old black lab. Now before you start to assume that we must have a guest house in the back, a finished basement, or at least a large guest suite, let me shoot down all of those assumptions: Nope! No, we don’t. We have none of that. Our basement is half finished, we have one bathroom between us, AND our home is 960 square feet. Yup. We. Crazy.

Kicking & Screaming

Kicking & Screaming

Obedience is such a challenging word. It comes with a stigma and bad publicity. I often think of obedience in reference to its opposite—disobedience. As a mother of two toddlers, disobedience is something I’m fairly familiar with. Defiance and stubbornness, lack of follow through, or even whining, kicking, screaming, and tantrums are part of my normal routine. A lot of times, disobedience is a product of impulsive independence. 

Our Enemy

Our Enemy

You don’t have to look too deep into our culture to recognize an ever increasing climate of outrage, suspicion and disunity. It’s everywhere now. And it’s not limited to political spheres or social media anymore. These sentiments are being echoed in our kitchens, the grocery stores, playgrounds, PTA groups, and even in our churches. It’s obvious. We are at odds with one another.

How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable

How to Disagree Without Being Disagreeable

With a presidential election looming nearer by the day, debates are starting to fire up more regularly.  Everyone seems to have an opinion about hot-button political issues: the role of government, immigration, the environment, socialism, capitalism, Nickleback — you name it! Regardless of what side of any given issue you might land on, it is safe to say that everyday situations are starting to feel a bit hostile.

I'm Tired

I'm Tired

Hi, I’m Chelsey. I'm a full-time law student. I'm an introvert. I'm a people-pleaser. I'm the daughter of an endlessly hardworking mother. I’m the granddaughter of aging grandparents. I’m a sister to struggling siblings. I'm the best friend of a military woman. But most of all, I am just tired.

He Will Restore

He Will Restore

I almost rushed past it. I had sat down for the first time in a couple weeks to read my Bible and spend time with Jesus. To be honest, even if it weren’t for all the traveling and summer activities that had been keeping me busy, I still had been struggling with feeling pretty detached and dry. I hadn’t read my Bible in weeks.

Highest Calling

Highest Calling

There I was. Standing in my bathroom; one of the few places I could find solitude. As a mama of three toddlers I have learned that in order to get alone time, I have to be a little creative. I was there because I had started to feel an ache again. An ache to pursue a dream that had been on my heart for years. But here’s the rub, I felt conflicted. Wasn’t my family supposed to get everything from me? Wasn’t I supposed to be there for them completely? How could I devote myself to them and pursue something else?

Tidying Up (Your Life)

Tidying Up (Your Life)

If you do not have Netflix, the craze of decluttering and organizing until your living room could make the pages of Better Homes & Gardens might have slipped by you. The Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo reintroduces the KonMari method of tidying. However, what if we are not just trying to declutter our homes, but everything else in our lives, too?

How to Make This Year Different

How to Make This Year Different

New Year's Day has come and gone and whether you declared a new year's resolution or not, the coming of a new year always brings with it a certain, unexplainable hope. On New Year’s Eve, as I count down to midnight, everything appears to happen in slow motion. As everyone in the room begins to count down from ten as loud as they can, I always take a moment to stop and scan the room. I look at my friends and family one by one, all smiling, and can't help but feel that beautiful hope bubbling up inside of me.

"I Didn't Know You Were A Christian"

"I Didn't Know You Were A Christian"

As a child, I always wondered who I was supposed to be. I knew I believed in God and I believed that he had sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay for my sins. I did not, however, know how that belief was supposed to take shape in my day-to-day life. Should I go to church every Sunday and invite my friends over and over to come with me? Should I wear a WWJD bracelet or get a WWJD bumper sticker? Should I only listen to K-Love on the radio? The question of how being a follower of Christ should look constantly ran through my head and I spent the majority of my life getting different answers from different people—living in constant confusion.

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Broken Sinks & Paper Plates

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Broken Sinks & Paper Plates

I stood in my kitchen, dirty dishes piled up on every counter. Water was leaking from under the sink, from under the dishwasher, all over my hardwood floor. Just another Saturday, I thought as I rolled my eyes and tried to take calming breaths. We did the dishes in the bathtub, only to make dinner which of course, led to more dirty dishes piled up again.

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Are You Experiencing God’s Presence?

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Are You Experiencing God’s Presence?

As followers of Christ or even those of us who are searching, we want to experience God's presence in our lives. This is manifested in different ways. Sometimes we want to experience His power, His peace, His direction, His healing, His hope, or His wisdom.
 However, no matter how much we want those things or even pray for those things, we still aren't experiencing God in the way we want.


April Safe Haven Update

April Safe Haven Update

Last month, a team of 5 from Relevant – Debi Jaeke, Laura Malsam, Natalie Meeske, Kristin Nelson, and I – had the awesome opportunity to visit the Safe Haven Orphanage! On previous trips, Tasanee had shared with us her and the children’s desire for additional English lessons, beyond what the kids have in school. God provided an awesome team of skilled educators to be a part of this trip, who willingly used their spring breaks to travel to the Thai/Burma border!

January Safe Haven Update

January Safe Haven Update

Because of Relevant’s generosity, Safe Haven was able to put the finishing touches on a new stage just in time for their Christmas celebration. The old stage was deteriorating and was no longer usable for the Christmas performances of singing, dancing, and acting that the children put on. From Tasanee: I would love to thank you Relevant Community Church so much for our new stage. Wish you all the best. Merry Christmas to you all.

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When to Talk & When to Type

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When to Talk & When to Type

Digital communication, including texts and emails, is a great way to communicate information and facts quickly, efficiently, and effectively. But what texts and emails can’t communicate are emotions, your heart, eye contact, non-verbal cues, forgiveness, love, etc…all the things that are required for a relationship to really flourish. Those things can only be experienced in true relational connection…face-to-face.

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3 Easy Ways to Invite Someone to a Sunday Gathering

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3 Easy Ways to Invite Someone to a Sunday Gathering

Too often we make “inviting someone to church” WAY more intimidating than it needs to be. Numerous research studies show that people are much more likely to show up on a Sunday morning than we think. The key ingredient that these studies find is that people will show up if invited by someone they know. So let’s explore easy ways to extend an invitation to someone in our life who doesn’t normally “go to church”.

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Lent: Before We Celebrate

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Lent: Before We Celebrate

The season of Lent starts today. Lent is the 40 days that lead up to Good Friday, the day we recognize Jesus’ death on the cross. I’ve always looked at Lent as a very “religious” thing; something “religious” people do. I’ve been challenged to “give things up” for Lent. In the past, I’ve tried and failed to sacrifice things like soda (“pop” for the natives) and watching hockey. My heart has never really been in it.