Tag: faith
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The Gifts I collected at “56”
“I am not simply growing older; I am becoming more deeply the woman God created me to be.” Every year, as my birthday approaches, I find myself looking back. Not simply at the years that have passed, but at the gifts I have collected along the way. Some gifts came wrapped in joy. Others arrived…
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Bring on Year “57!”
It’s August! That means that it’s my birthday month and time for me to continue my annual birthday month tradition of reflecting on all the valuable lessons that I have learned in the year. I like my responses to correlate with the number of years that I have been growing in these experiences. This marks…
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When the Road We Imagined Changes
For my dear friend Shauna and her family—As you walk through a season you never expected, carrying both the weight of grief and the gift of a precious grandson, may you know that God is near, that your tears are seen, and that His love for Baker is greater than anything we could ever imagine.…
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The Gift of a father
A father’s influence reaches far beyond the years,Beyond scraped knees and bedtime prayers,Beyond the milestones marked in photographs and frames.His investment becomes part of the soul itself. He shows up.Again and again.Not merely with provision for the body,But with presence for the heart. He leads not with dominance,But with steady conviction.Not demanding respect through fear,But…
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The Slow Work of Restoration
“The comeback is always stronger than the setback.” — Proverb There are seasons in life when everything feels like construction. Not the exciting kind where blueprints are fresh and possibilities seem endless, but the slow, dusty, exhausting kind where what once stood has been dismantled and the new foundation isn’t yet visible. Rebuilding is rarely…
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When Goodness Feels Impossible
There are seasons of life that don’t fit neatly into testimonies. Seasons that don’t resolve quickly, don’t make sense easily, and don’t soften no matter how much faith you bring into them. Seasons marked by loss, uncertainty, loneliness, and questions that seem to echo without answer. If you’re in one of those places right now,…
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Rooted Thoughts
Cultivating Truth From the Inside Out We live in a world that constantly tells us to “just think positive.”Smile more. Worry less. Speak good things into existence. But if we’re honest, positive thinking on its own can feel thin—like trying to paint over cracks without repairing the foundation beneath. Because what happens when life isn’t…
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When Hardship Feels Like Punishment
There is something deeply human about the way we all interpret pain. When hardship comes—unexpected loss, relational strain, disappointment, or seasons that feel unbearably heavy—my instinct is often to ask: “What did I do wrong?” I search for cause and effect. I assume consequence. Somewhere deep within me, I connect suffering with punishment. It’s not…
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Tender Truth
This past weekend I spent time with a long-time friend, the kind of friend who knows your story and isn’t afraid to speak honestly about life and faith. Somewhere between laughter, reflection, and the quiet spaces where meaningful conversations often unfold, we found ourselves talking about kindness. More specifically, we talked about how many followers…
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Hugging Hope in the Ruins
There are endings that rearrange furniture. And then there are endings that rearrange you. When significant relationships come to an end—through divorce, death, estrangement, or quiet unraveling—it can feel like the architecture of your life has collapsed. The rooms are still there, but the meaning inside them is gone. The rhythms you once knew by…
Braving Authenticity 