Candidly Christian

Real Women. Real Life. Real Faith.

Jaime Hampton

About Jaime Hampton

Jaime Hampton lives in Southcentral Alaska with her husband and three children. She is a Christian author and co-host of the Praying Christian Women podcast. She also enjoys camping with her family, roasting (and drinking!) coffee, and the crazy life that comes with being a hockey mom. You can connect with Jaime at www.jaimehampton.com.

Ditch the Wallowing: 3 Bible Verses About Regret

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I struggle with getting stuck in my regrets. These regrets could involve things like deep regrets about hurtful things I’ve done or said to people in the past, or very often regrets about not making the most of my time with my kids. In fact, I feel an uneasiness at the beginning of just about every summer as I’m brainstorming ideas for the coming months.

I didn’t always know what it was, but I’ve figured out it’s “pre-regret” because I’m already anticipating being disappointed that I didn’t manage the summer better. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. The pattern of regret is always the same: I rehash all the things I should have done, could have done if I’d only (fill-in-the-blank), or would have done under different circumstances (which I also often regret).

I don’t just rehash, though; sometimes I wallow. 

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Ditching the Comparison Game in My Prayer Life

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My good friend Alana and I have been prayer partners for almost ten years now, and podcast partners for about half of that time. One of the funniest moments in our friendship came when we were discussing prayer styles on the Praying Christian Women podcast and both admitted we had envied each other for the way we prayed. Each of us had been secretly wishing our prayer style was more like the other for years!

Playing the Comparison Game

Alana is ultra-productive in everything she does. She is a prolific author, owner of a growing publishing company and homeschool mom to boot. In her prayer life she is organized and consistent. She has multiple prayer journals, loves lists and sticky notes, and can spend an hour in her “prayer closet” easily.

Then there’s me.

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God Doesn’t Need Your Egg McMuffin

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I’ve always been a Martha type.

I’m more likely to be “doing” than sitting at the feet of Jesus, even to the point of equating my own value as a person with how much I get done and how well I do it.

There have been times of transition from one season of life to another when the barricade of duties I’ve surrounded myself with to make me feel secure and good about myself get stripped away, and I am left feeling naked and exposed.

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3 Steps To Take When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned

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There are times when we pray for something and God answers with a resounding “Yes!” and we celebrate.

Then there are times when He answers with a “No” and we accept it, knowing that His ways are higher than ours.

But what about the times when we wear out the knees in our pant legs from praying so much, and not only do we not see God doing what we’ve asked, but things actually seem to get worse?

Have you been there?

I have.

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4 Powerful Prayers to Pray for Unity

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It seems like in the last year there has been more division over issues than any other time I can remember.

Personally, I have struggled with ugly feelings toward people, social media posts, and political issues that I find myself disagreeing with, and I know I’m not alone. God has been working on me in these areas, opening my eyes to my own blind spots and contribution to the problem.

As a peace-seeker, I don’t like outright confrontation, but in my mind and heart there is regularly judgement and conflict. In many ways that can be worse by giving you a false sense of being the “good person” who doesn’t stir up trouble among friends and acquaintances in real life or on social media. Meanwhile, under the surface there is a war raging.

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How to Overcome “Prayer-alysis”

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I believe that prayer is the single greatest gift God has given us, next to the gift of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection. I believe in God’s power to transform the person who prays, and in the power of prayer to change the fabric of reality as we act as a conduit for God’s kingdom to be manifest here on earth as it is in heaven.

And yet far too often I talk about prayer more than I actually pray.

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5 Things You Need To Know About Taming the Tongue

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Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)

I almost didn’t write this post because I like to write about topics where I’ve gained some traction, where I can look back and see a significant transformation.

But when it comes to the topic of “taming my tongue” – speaking words that give life, not death, and thoughtfully curating what I let escape from my mouth – I’m afraid my progress looks more like a stock market chart on a bad year than a steady upward climb. Up, then down, then up a little more, then way down.

But this was the story God kept pressing me to share.

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4 Things God is Teaching Me About Forgiveness

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Recently, I’ve realized that forgiveness doesn’t come as easily as I’d previously thought.

I used to kind of pride myself (maybe that in itself was a hint I was on the wrong track…) on being able to forgive easily, not hold a grudge, and generally move on from an offense pretty quickly. But I started to see patterns emerging. I’d be wounded, “forgive,” and then at some point down the road the same wounds would resurface.

Nothing had been resolved.

Not really, anyway. I’d just slapped a band-aid on it for the sake of avoiding conflict in the moment and keeping the peace.   

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4 Ways to Love Your Husband Like Jesus

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Are you married to someone who’s really different from you?

Have you ever asked God what on earth He was thinking when He chose this man to be your spouse?

If so, you are not alone!

My husband and I are both Christians. There are some major issues that we are absolutely on the same page about. For these two foundations, I’m totally and utterly thankful. But he is an engineer, while I most definitely am not. He is an optimizer of systems, whereas I seem to create a wake of chaos wherever I go. He is an ultra-focused driver and gets frustrated with others who aren’t so focused (…why are you looking at me?!).

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3 Simple Exercises to Calm Your Nerves

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There’s nothing like a global pandemic to expose your nerves, heighten emotions and unearth the best (and the worst) in all of us.

If you’d asked me a year ago what I thought I’d be struggling with most during this unprecedented time in the world I’d probably think fear or anxiety. I tend to worry, play out worst-case scenarios in my head about my kids, my family and often myself. But that hasn’t been my reality. For whatever reason anxiety has been kept at bay, but something else has reared its ugly head. 

I’ve become quarent-angry. (See what I did there?) 

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