Encouragement Archives - Cassie L. Wilson

How to Find the Courage to Pray Big

April 16, 2021

Inside: finding the courage to pray big

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer. You know, the kinds of prayers that are so saturated in faith that it gets things done. (Well, the Lord is the one that gets it done, but you know what I mean.)

Prayer is (or should be!) an important part of our everyday Christian walk with the Lord.

My mom, a Sunday School teacher, likes to teach her kids that neglecting prayer is like neglecting to talk to our best friend. Without that line of communication, eventually that relationship is going to crumble. Same thing happens with our relationship with the Lord when we neglect to pray often and fervently.

But, what happens, friend, when we’re too afraid to pray?

Too afraid that God might answer our prayers and disrupt our super comfy lives? Or, we’re too afraid of the answer to the umpteen questions we have about it?

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What to do when it hurts to hope

January 31, 2021

Inside: what to do when it hurts to hope

If you’ve been browsing around the blog for a while, you’ll know that I liked to read YouVerison’s devotionals when I dry my hair. YouVersion has a devotional for just about every topic you can think of. Want to start a “read the Bible in a year” (or half a year)? Well, YouVersion has you covered on that, too. They’re basically a one stop shop.

Now that I have a fancy-dancy Dyson hair dryer, my drying time is cut in half. But, I still have plenty of time to start my day with a devotion and God’s word while getting my hair dry.

Lately, I have been reading Harmony Grillo’s devotion, Dreams Redeemed. I’ll be honest, when I pick a devotion to read on YouVersion, I usually read the first day’s devotion before starting the plan. You know, just to see if I like it.

But, not with this one.

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Storms: What to Do When You’re in One

July 15, 2020

Inside: how to hold on during a storm

Have you ever ridden a boat? Not like on the lake or a riverboat. But, a boat out in the middle of the ocean and you can’t see land?

So, I have. I was with a group of my classmates on a research trip.

Lemme set the scene: The sun is shining bright. The swells aren’t terribly bad and the breeze is just right. And just about every single one of us, including me, couldn’t keep our eyes open because the boat was rocking us to sleep.

Really, it’s a miracle none of us fell out of it…

So, when I read about the story of Jesus and the disciples in Mark 4, I can understand how Jesus feel asleep so quickly.

And, then I think, “Uh, Cassie, it was also storming…” And then I’m all, “Nevermind… Not sure I could’ve slept through that.” (And if you know me, you know I sleep through just about everything…)

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The Thing About Seasons and Life

July 8, 2020

Inside: growing in your season

Do you ever get the feeling like you should do something, but you really don’t know the reason for doing it?

I can’t be the only one, right?

Well, I had a feeling the other day that I should read the very first Psalm. I admit, dear reader, it’s been a while since I’ve spent much time in the Psalms, let alone Psalm 1. But, after reading it, I thought, “Whoooooa, that was unexpected.“

So, Psalm 1 is pretty short, right? Even though it’s short, it packs a pretty powerful punch. Psalm 1 is basically about being rooted in the Lord and being unwavering in your faith.

And, I dunno about you, but in 2020, I think we could all stand to be a little more rooted in the Word and our faith. Heaven knows 2020 has been… well, the wonkiest.

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When You Just Have to Let Go

October 26, 2019

Have you ever needed God to do a new thing in your life? But you can’t seem to let go of something holding you back?

I’ll be the first to answer, I have. I most definitely have.

If you’ve been in a similar spot in your life, it probably felt (or, maybe currently feels) like maybe the change you needed wasn’t coming. Maybe it felt like, you’d be in the rain cloud for the rest of your life and you’d never feel the sun on your face again.

You’d just be cold, miserable, and gloomy. Forever.

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