Are you willing to trust in God and patiently wait for His plan to unfold—like the tide that knows when to rise and fall, or the wind that waits on the whisper of God’s command? Just as the coastline doesn’t rush the waves or command the sun to rise faster, we too are invited into a kind of holy stillness. Waiting may feel uncomfortable to us, but within God’s design it carries deep purpose. Let’s consider the significance of waiting and the blessings it can bring. Did you kn

The Sabbath has always been difficult for me. Not because I don’t love it, I truly do. But because I often feel like I don’t honor it the way I should. It is the day the Lord made for us to rest in Him and yet, I find myself missing the mark more often than I’d like. Still, I know this…His grace meets me there, again and again. God never asked this (or any) human to be perfect. Sometimes the pressure I feel isn’t even from Him, it’s the quiet sense that others may judge how w

The mist danced across the water like spirits of days gone by. Sitting at the splintery picnic table, I watched the spring water bubble up endlessly, hearing the sound of rushing water as the ever-flowing spring poured into the river. As I sat there, the words of God flooded my mind: “Your life is but a mist…” (James 4:14). “Streams of living water will flow from within you…” (John 7:38). “The water that I give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life

For many years, I thought there were no photos of me as a baby. Years ago, our family lost the old video reels that captured my earliest days in a fire, before they could be converted to digital. I believed those memories were gone forever. A few years ago, my sister discovered a single, very degraded photo of me with my siblings. Even that felt like a treasure. Recently, my aunt went through an envelope of old family photos she’d been holding onto, and unexpectedly found a f

Healing begins the moment I stop hiding. God works in the open places where truth is spoken plainly and hearts are laid down without armor. What I dare to reveal, He is faithful to restore. What I surrender, He lovingly reshapes. The places I once feared to expose become the very spaces His grace pours through the most. Wholeness isn’t found in perfection, but in courage… the courage to be real, to come as I am, and to trust that God meets honesty with healing, and truth with

Fires can be extremely destructive to forests; trees are reduced to ash, ecosystems are wiped out, and landscapes are changed forever. But did you know that not every fire in the woods is catastrophic? There are two main types of forest fires. High-severity wildfires burn so hot that they can destroy entire forest ecosystems. These fires consume everything in their path and leave little behind that can recover. The other type of forest fire is low to moderate intensit

Some people drift from view without ever leaving the heart. Days pass…full, busy, unfolding but silence isn’t absence, only life moving at its own pace. Still, there are moments when their name rises softly, uninvited but welcome, resting in thought like a quiet prayer. So today, strength is wished for them. Peace that settles deep and stays. Light in ordinary moments. Beautiful days that meet them right where they are. No need for answers. No need for reaching. Just a gentle

Have you ever taken the time to really look at the “fear not” Scriptures? Being someone who frequently experiences anxiety, I have. But recently, I read the first sentence of an anxiety devotional that stopped me in my tracks. What was it, you wonder? Each “fear not” is immediately followed by a reason—a reason given by God Himself. And that reason almost always points directly to His character and who He is. Do I think that’s a coincidence? Not at all. When God tells us not

The God who counts each strand of hair also knows the weight of every debt, the stories we hope no one asks to hear. He knows the moment shame learned our name, the pains that tighten the chest at night, the memory we replay and wish undone. And still He does not turn away. He draws closer. Love leaning in. He sees the roads not taken, the words we swallowed, the doors we didn’t open because fear spoke louder than hope. He knows the ache of what might have been, the invitatio

While we were working at one of our campgrounds, I had a special request to make an “ugly sweater.” Little did I know just how difficult this would be for me. I’ve made a similar sweater before, so that wasn’t the trouble. I know how to crochet. I know how to put the pieces together to form the sweater. The actual work wasn’t the hard part. Much to my surprise, the most difficult part for me was creating something that wasn’t perfect. As surprising as this was, it

Every time I read about the woman who came to the well at noon (John 4), I don’t just read her story…I feel it. I’ve lived it. The hiding, the shame, the fear of being seen too closely. And yet, just like her, I found Jesus waiting for me in the very place I tried to disappear. I know what it feels like to walk to the “well at noon.” To show up in the heat because the shadows felt safer, because silence felt easier than facing what people might think if they knew the whole tr

When you look at a lake or any clear body of water you can usually see a reflection of whatever surrounds it. The image is recognizable but never as brilliant or precise as the original. As children of God we are called to reflect His character in much the same way. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Ephesians 5:1 If we are called to reflect God’s character then we must first KNOW His character. I mean, honestly, how can you imitate someone you d

Guilt whispers,“You did wrong.” A wound that can be tended, a path that can be chosen differently. But shame… Shame says, “You are the wrong.” It tries to stitch itself into your name, to turn a moment into an identity. It grows from sins we’ve done and sins done to us…and there is a quiet kind of death in living beneath its shadow. Yet God calls us into the light. He has changed you. He has claimed you. He has named you as His. Heaven will not hold the labels earth tries

Dizziness… anxiety… fear… These have been tangled up in my body for six long years. They’ve shaped my days, my decisions, my movement, even my hopes. I have prayed — oh, how I have prayed — for physical healing. I’ve prayed for the dizziness to stop, the slosh to settle, the sensations to finally let my nervous system rest. And for most of this journey, that’s been my singular focus: God, please heal my body. But recently something in me shifted. I found myself praying a dif

Why do we tend to wait until death comes to speak of how someone has impacted our life? They deserve to hear it now… while their heart can still receive it, while their soul can still be lifted by the tenderness of our love. Life is too short to hold it inside. Say the words. Give the hug. Share the smile. Don’t wait for a better time to do the things… today is holy ground. Show love not only in what you say, but in what you give…a gift of you that carries meaning, a kindness

When we think about surrender, most of the time we don’t have happy soothing thoughts. We tend to see surrender as weakness, giving up, or even defeat. But in the Kingdom of God, surrender is where we find strength, peace, and victory. If we want to see a perfect example of surrender, we need look no further than Jesus Christ. He knew what was coming and submitted anyway. He walked straight into suffering with full knowledge of what was coming and still chose to ent

Moments of aloneness don’t always come in silence. Sometimes they linger even when others fill the room. Yet in those quiet corners of the heart, God gently calls us closer…to pause, to reflect, and to remember to rest in His nearness. When quiet ache comes, do not fear its arrival. Let it enter. Not as an enemy, but as a teacher. For solitude is not emptiness, it is sacred space… a whispering ground where God meets our soul and reminds us who we are. In the stillness, we see

Imagine my surprise as I wandered around the campground store and found this little bracelet. The bracelet in itself was super cute, but that wasn’t what caught my eye. The wording on the card it was attached to was what drew me in. The word that really stopped me in my tracks was “balance”. But when I saw the two words above it, I was taken aback and really started thinking. What were those three words? Patience, Resilience, Balance. You know how there are ti

I have carried the weight of promises undone. Cups pressed to my lips… but never filling. A thirst that lingered in hope, waiting to be quenched by something real. For years, I carried shame. Let guilt write its story across my soul. Believing I was unworthy of the kind of love and grace God intended. But no more. Christ met me in the wreckage… and the chains fell. I found freedom in Living Water. I am not flawless. Not polished glass, not painted beauty. I am marred. Imperfe

A few days ago, I was experiencing some nervous energy and decided it would be a good idea to go wander the beach along the shore. The...