ARTICLES BY COLLEEN CHAO

Author: Colleen Elisabeth Chao

Author: Colleen Elisabeth Chao

man sitting in front of window
anxiety

God is with me in my panic attack

I was 25 years old when I scored my dream job—working as an editor on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. After growing up in California, I fell head-over-heels in love with the East Coast and decided I’d stay put. Until I landed in the ER at

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Bible study

Complain, weep, wonder, and worship.

Summer is an odd duck. School lets out, Instagram becomes a film reel of beach days and vacas, and by July 31st Halloween paraphernalia is holding stores hostage. Between June and August I’m never quite sure if I’m winding down or revving up. These hot

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beach daylight motion ocean
Community

“The sacred art and mystery of forgiving”

Forgiveness may just be the hardest thing we do in life. At times it can be downright agonizing, amen? But agony meets ecstasy, and forgiveness is an enviable invitation into the very heart of Christ. When we forgive at great expense, dying to ourselves and

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Hope

Painting

My dirty, sweaty 5-year-old is sitting on the back porch happily humming and throwing fistfuls of birdseed on the lawn. We’ll have an aviary here by morning. And my heart swells with joy as I take in this moment. Little boys are magic-in-the-raw. They’re a composite

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architecture black and white dark door
Beauty

Beautiful

I have several friends in their fifties and sixties who are living proof that a woman can grow more beautiful with age. Isn’t it hopeful to know that a heart at peace and a life of joy can transform our faces and attract people to

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white clouds
Beauty

Imagine this….

I’m not sure where the idea of a harps-and-clouds heaven came from, but it’s as far from the truth as we could get. The God of eternity, and his new heavens and new earth, are so fantastical that the apostle John in his book of

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a person sitting on wooden planks across the lake scenery
Bible study

“Get to God, dear heart”

I love praying Scripture back to God. It wakes up my sluggish heart, it focuses my scattered thoughts, it helps me sense God’s presence. And it’s been one way for me to heed C.H. Spurgeon’s advice: What you need is to get to God through what you read,

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white dried and cracked ground texture with dry plants
anxiety

If you’re feeling insecure….

In his book The Importance of Being Foolish, Brennan Manning writes: “What keeps me feeling insecure are my addictive emotional needs, which must always be satisfied. When reality does not live up to my expectations, I become frustrated, angry, bitter, anxious, and resentful. “For example, say you

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woman turning around on green fields
Bible study

I don’t have to scream anymore

They’d been running around in circles all morning, yelling, begging their god to answer them—to no avail. So they screamed louder. Louder and longer. And when screaming didn’t work, the 450 desperate prophets drew swords and started cutting themselves till they were a mob of

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close up photo of coffee on table
Love

Date at dawn

I penned this almost eight years ago in the midst of a desperate season, when I was hungry for the Word and a quiet space to process my hurting heart. A small booth in the back corner of Panera Bread became my sweet refuge that

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Author: Colleen Elisabeth Chao

Hope

Painting

My dirty, sweaty 5-year-old is sitting on the back porch happily humming and throwing fistfuls of

Read More »
architecture black and white dark door
Beauty

Beautiful

I have several friends in their fifties and sixties who are living proof that a

Read More »
error: For permission to use Colleen\\\\\\\'s written work, Please email ColleenEChao@gmail.com