Marnie HammarMay 19, 20213 minWhere We Are Doesn't Have to be Where We StayI have a thing for barns. Most weekends, back roads are our choice for getting to soccer, and if I’m lucky enough to be a passenger...
Marnie HammarMar 2, 20217 minIs God Really Right Here?I had my littlest with me on this quick grocery run. It was one of those steamy summer days where you don’t want to accidentally step off...
Marnie HammarFeb 23, 20218 minHow Do I Listen for God?He was relaxing on our mauve hand-me-down couch, watching our fancy new 19” television — a wedding gift we were giddy about. I was...
Marnie HammarFeb 10, 20215 minCan I Expect to Hear God?We were having our very orange-y hardwood floors redone. If you’ve done it, you know, it’s a whole thing. I stood there, holding a...
Marnie HammarFeb 3, 20214 minWill God Speak, Even to Me?I’d had nightmares about it, but in 25 years, it hadn’t happened. Until it did. My oldest son and I were sitting in my...
Marnie HammarJan 28, 20215 minIf I Seek God, Will I Really Find Him?My brother suspiciously disappeared around the time the cookie jar went missing. He was five, I was seven, and while there was no hard...
Marnie HammarJan 9, 20214 minLet's Begin at the Start: An IntroductionAn Introduction to the Hear Him Louder Essay Series I just thought that Jesus was a decision I made that one time when I was five. I had...
Marnie HammarDec 15, 20205 minChasing the Thrill of Hope | Week Three: Be StillThe shepherds had to decide: Guard the sheep or see the Lamb? In the middle of their must’s, they chose to be still.
Marnie HammarDec 8, 20204 minChasing the Thrill of Hope | Week Two: Be PresentBut one person stayed present in a conversation where the obvious answer was “no" and made room.
Marnie HammarDec 3, 20205 minChasing the Thrill of Hope | Week One: Be OpenI started wondering how it’s all going to fit together this year. How do I check off all the must’s, but balance all of the maybe’s?
Marnie HammarNov 10, 20204 minOn Picking Up Our Broken PiecesWhether he likes or not (he doesn’t), my middle son unloads the dishwasher every day. Last week, as he was stretching to put a serving...
Marnie HammarOct 29, 20203 minOn Chasing Light and Turning from VulturesThe sun reached forward, adorning the tops of trees and tips of houses in gold. I needed to be out in it, to feel on my face and my...
Marnie HammarOct 13, 20203 minOn Forgiveness: A Fight for the Promise of More?The afternoon sun reached through the window, shining on my morning coffee. The day had passed without me. I pretended to not think about...
Marnie HammarSep 29, 20204 minAn Awkward Lesson in Love from Junior High PickupReally, it doesn't matter whether she was right or wrong. What matters is who I was in response.
Marnie HammarSep 8, 20205 minFrom Hearing to Healing: How God Spoke Into My PainIt wasn’t necessarily a deception, but it felt like it. We’d been led to believe something that would change our family forever —...
Marnie HammarAug 18, 20203 minWhat I Learned from Being the Liar on the PlaygroundMy mom took my brother and I to a park in a neighboring town that was much bigger than our little burg. I remember how its decorative,...
Marnie HammarAug 4, 20203 minWhat You Need to Know About Superhero CapesWhen my middle son was in preschool, one of the moms made a superhero cape and matching mask for each preschooler in the class. Every...
Marnie HammarJul 17, 20204 minLessons from an Ivy League LibraryOnce upon a time, I worked for an Ivy League university near Boston, where my job was to interview and write about students and faculty...
Marnie HammarJul 2, 20204 minWhen God Shows Up in the Grocery Store Parking LotI saw her, but I didn’t really see her. I was loading my groceries into the back of my car, hurrying. It was almost dinner time and I...
Marnie HammarMar 1, 202010 minDiscerning the Voice of God: A Journey of Discovering that He SpeaksPhotos by Pam Scott, @pjscott6 It’s a Thursday morning in August, 2006. I finish vacuuming, because when you’re selling a house, you...