Latest Posts

unDefended

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your… Read More

unClean

Everyone was settling down for sleep, but the old woman had to talk to the teacher. What she’d heard tonight was earth-shattering. Mind-blowing. Life-changing. Filth removed, disgrace transformed to honor, rejected now accepted? The story of the sick woman and Jesus was unlike any of the stories told in her tribe. The flickering firelight deepened the rich, warm espresso of her wizened face as she leaned close to the storyteller. “Thank you.” Like the woman… Read More

unKnown

 Is being unknown such a bad thing? The thought of being known can be terrifying if we don't like what we know about ourselves. The possibility of rejection looms large and threatening, and sometimes, like during a global pandemic when we are forced to distance ourselves anyway, we wonder if being unknown might be a good thing. It's nice not wearing makeup, working from home in pajamas, just coming as we are to life, nobody watching… Read More

unSeen

It is a truth universally acknowledged that humanity often finds lies easier to believe than truth. -Audrey Frank Arresting in their beauty, her brown eyes were gracefully framed by long eyelashes and a carefully drawn line of kohl along the upper lids. I momentarily forgot I was at a surgical clinic, my team’s purpose to repair facial deformities. I saw no deformity in this beautiful young woman. But she had not yet removed the cobalt… Read More

unWorthy

It is a truth universally acknowledged that humanity often finds lies easier to believe than truth.-Audrey Frank Some lies seem to be written on hearts in permanent ink, graffitied in different languages across cultures and continents, yet all meaning the same. unWorthy. unLoveable. unSeen. unHeard. unKnown. unClean. unDefended.  At The Truth Collective, we are seeking to uncover the lies and help people believe what is True. We are proud to unveil our latest project, the… Read More

A Deep, Quiet Assurance: Knowing God’s Leading

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.Isaiah 26:3 Behind every life-changing, heart-gripping event, there is a story beneath the story. It is sometimes never told, at least to the crowds. Rachel Saint, missionary to the jungle peoples of Ecuador, told the story beneath the story of the martyrdom of her brother Nate Saint along with four other missionaries on January 8, 1956. In Ethel Wallace's gem-of-a-book The Dayuma Story,… Read More

Seed Beginnings

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.Zechariah 4:10 I lay there in the dark, alert and ready to leap out of bed at any given second. The sound of the rat running back and forth on the bedpost inches from my head had me frozen in place, immobilized and afraid to breathe. What on earth is he carrying in his mouth with such dedication? I wondered to… Read More

Honor Outcry: What Racial Outrage Reveals About the Human Heart

for Erick George Floyd, you were caught trying to buy a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill, according to the news reports. As you placed that bill on the counter in hopes of getting one more drag from a cigarette you had no idea you stood on the razor-fine edge of a precipice, your life an inflection point for an entire nation. You had no clue you would soon ignite an honor outcry.… Read More

Anxious

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.Psalm 139:23 We are anxious about everything, it would seem.  Today on the Culture Translator, I was introduced to the latest anxiety trend among Generation Z: “eco-anxiety.” Stemming from the belief that there is currently a climate crisis, eco-anxiety is causing a majority of 18-25 year-olds to worry about what will happen in the future. Before you judge Generation Z, stop and… Read More

The Branch and the Vine

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.John 15:4 I have spent the past 23 days by the side of my child who is suffering indescribable pain I cannot take away. I have wrestled with God and asked hard questions. It is difficult to express in words such intimate moments between the beloved… Read More