Tabitha Caplinger

My 2019 word of the year has been Breakthrough. I talked all about it back in January and just read through that post again this morning. It was a little invigorating remembering all that God had been speaking to me in those cold winter months. What I didn't share in that post was something God had spoken to me during a prayer time a few months earlier. It was something I was keeping close to my heart, a secret between me and Jesus. It wasn't until the last couple of weeks th

2016 was my year on PURPOSE. 2017 was my year of PROMISE. 2018 was my year of PASSION. (Don't you love the alliteration there? I do. It makes me happy and to be honest I wasn't even trying for it but that's how much Jesus gets me.) I didn't plan on having a word of the year for 2019, Really I didn't. Those previous three years and three words neatly tied up a season of my life, and using them as points of focus made sense. So as 2018 came to a close I didn't give thought to c

In just a few hours, 2018 will end and 2019 will begin. Whether you go out with friends, countdown in front of New Year's Rockin' Eve in your own living room, or go to bed early, the new year will come at the stroke of midnight. Are you ready for what it holds? In The Chronicle of the Three: Eden Sword (the final installment in the trilogy) Zoe is struggling to celebrate as her destiny weighs on her. Thankfully, she's got Daniel with her. Below is an excerpt from New Year's

* Warning, somewhat of a rant ahead. Proceed at your own risk. I tried to hold it in but I can't so I'm letting it all spill out. I am trying to be nice and encouraging with it though, so, there's that. Do with it what you will. I am tired, y'all. I am sure some of you are too. I cannot be the only one who gets on social media or watches the news and wants to just curl up and give up and just watch Netflix and forget about life and the real world. (Don't freak out, I love Jes

God, I don’t understand? Why me? I had been a Christian for about ten years. Many women of faith had poured their hearts into me to help me grow, and it was taking way too long for my perfectionist self. For ten years, the pot had been boiling, and it was finally boiling over. I couldn’t understand why God had chosen me and poured the lives of so many spiritual women into me, all for so little return. Why would He do this? What was in it for Him? I didn’t realize then that ev

As a youth pastor, students who spend any amount of time with me will inevitably hear me say that I believe self-assessment is a spiritual discipline. It becomes far too easy to become complacent in our own relationships with Jesus. We go to church, read our Bibles, find a routine, get stuck in a rut and don't realize that while we think we are good we really aren't. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about sin, about being bad. (Though sin can creep in.) You don't have to b

In January I deemed 2017 my year of promise. After a lot of prayer that word was resounding in my head and heart. I felt like this would be the year I would see something happen, the harvest, if you will, of all my efforts. We're half way through the year and I find myself beginning to wonder. Had I misheard God about this year? Had I misheard Him about His actual promises to me and what my harvest would look like? I started the year with such hope for rain and yet I still fe

Five years ago I told God I would do anything for His name. Of course, my definition of anything was slightly different from what He has called me to do. When I said anything, I meant the shallow end of the water. I wanted my feet safely and firmly touching the bottom. However, God called me into the deep waters of a calling I often do not feel ready for in the first place. Five years ago, I told God He could have me but I made the mistake of giving Him conditions to that cal

Kelly is a booktuber, aspiring author and lover of Jesus. You may follow her at: instagram: @kellysbookspill Twitter: @kellysbookspill Snapchat: kaybee0703 Facebook: facebook.com/kellysbookspill Thanks for watching Kelly's #LiveChosen story. I hope through this month you have been inspired to discover and live for your purpose on purpose. We still have a week left so stay tuned and don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!!! #LiveChosen #purpose #faith

*Disclaimer: Zoe is a fictional character from The Chronicle of the Three Trilogy. She is not real. But, I believe, there is still some truth to her struggles, while fictional, that could give us insight and encouragement in our own. You may proceed. Some days I don’t want to be chosen anymore. It has cost me a lot. It’s painful and exhausting. I’m tired. I know this probably isn’t what you were expecting, or wanting when you clicked on this. I should give you some inspiring

*Disclaimer: Claire is a fictional character from The Chronicle of the Three Trilogy. She is not real. But, I believe, there is still some truth to her struggles, while fictional, that could give us insight and encouragement in our own. You may proceed. Imagine waking up on your fifteenth birthday, so early the sun hasn’t even begun to make it’s daily debut, and there is a demon hovering over your bed. Yeah, I freaked out too. The thing is I knew about demons, about the real

When I was born, I had a tumor in my neck—a tumor the size of a man’s fist in a newborn baby’s neck. Of course, the doctors said I would die if the tumor wasn’t removed, but even with the surgery my chance of survival was only 50%. Once the surgery was over (and I was still alive), these same experts were so convinced that I would be so physically and/or mentally handicapped that they tried to get my parents to put me in a state home that could better care for me. Today, unle

Lauren Earls serves Faith Community alongside her husband, lead pastor Josh Earls. She is an awesome woman of God who is passionate about helping people move from where they are to where God wants them to be. Aside from coordinating dream teams, directing small groups and discipling women, Lauren has a heart for missions projects around the world. She is also super fun! I am honored to work beside her and call her friend. (She is also a rockstar mom to 5 year old Carson.) Con

I am so lucky to get to call this demon slayer a friend. I love her heaps! And I love her story of living chosen. “Its better to make a mistake and be real with people than it is to look perfect and be a complete fake.” Check out her story! It means so much to me that you're here! There are more #LiveChosen stories to come so check back. And don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY!! #LiveChosen #purpose #faith

Last night I was minding my business, prepping for some pieces of the first session of our church's women's conference. I had a quick moment to myself and decided to check my email. I shouldn't have done it, it wasn't a good time for email but that little red badge icon was poking at my OCD and so I opened the app. Then I really wished I had waited until later. At the top of my inbox was a message from my publisher. Thinking it was a standard house keeping announcement, nothi

Teresa "Shiny" Sunshine, that is the name my three year old gave to the small stuffed crab toy my husband brought her back from his recent trip to the east coast. It's just a little crab. It didn't cost a lot of money. But she loved it. Then she lost it. Here's how it went down. My daughter had played with Shiny the entire day, not letting it out of her sight since her father had given it to her earlier that morning. It crawled amongst lego buildings. It snuggled to watch You

Christmas is supposed to be a merry time. Its supposed to be all about joy and giving and hope. But it occurrs to me that while I am wrapping gifts and baking cookies and decking the halls, not everyone is so joyful. Some are grieving. Some are lonely. And some have simply lost hope. The dictionary defines hope as, "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best:" If that is hope a lot of us lack it. Maybe just for a day but unfortuantely

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 Okay, so you may have heard about this whole Starbucks red cups fiasco. Before you roll your eyes at yet another person talking about it, I'm not really going to talk about it. It just sparked the thought that has itched at my brain this week. To be honest, none of my Christian friends were offended by the cup. I wasn'

God is good. He has given me a new introduction to His goodness and love for me this week and I needed to share it with you. I am about to embark on a 9 day journey overseas. I’m going to a new place for a new experience and while it started out completely exciting I have slowly become unnerved by it. Fear has crept into my thoughts and heart and has sought to steal all my joy over this adventure I knew God had called me on. If I am completely honest I was on the verge of cal

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. I am a planner. I like plans, and schedules and lists. I like to lay out how my day and week and month are all going to look in nice neat, color-coded, glory on my calendar. I don't like spontaneity. I don't like last minute changes. God knows this about me and yet He insists on rocking my boat on a regular basis. It happened this week. I had everything going along smoothly with my publishing te