The more I read, the more I see how the Scriptures paint a portrait of a God who sees. A God who knows even me. Especially me. And who uses my life to paint His glory. He who is good and kind, just and righteous, divine and man. Acquainted with suffering and intimate with grief. […]
In the Aftermath of a Mighty Storm, We are Changed
It was an ordinary Sunday afternoon. That is until the storm began. The storm that wasn’t in our Southern CA forecast–the spring flash storm we weren’t even expecting. The sun was shining with a brilliant blue sky. And then the clouds rolled in, announcing the beginning–blocking the sun, and darkening the sky. Then the wind […]
Grief: The Power of our Silent Presence
She arrived mid-morning on the first day of a new month, nineteen weeks pregnant and bleeding. And I volunteered to take care of her. She needed somebody to be willing. And I knew what to do because I’d done it so many times before. We sped her to ultrasound. And then, the radiologist called. He […]
When a Fallen Tree Takes Time to Grow Again
Because of my story, I receive emails every single week from women who are desperate for answers. Desperate for someone, anyone, to tell them what to do to fix the mess and pain of the life they’re living. And if there’s one thing I know for sure, sin brings pain–deep, gouging, life-altering pain, the likes […]
When Pain Blinds Us to the Truth
The truth is hard to see when we’re in pain. Doubt settles in like an opaque cloud clinging to a mountain and never letting go. Confusion rolls in as a fog, preventing us from seeing more than a few inches beyond our face. And we can’t see the sun that shines above the thickness. We […]
When You Wonder if There is Purpose in Pain
She loses her job this week and walks away with one less key on her ring and a feeling of loss in her heart. It happens so fast. Abrupt, sudden, and unexpected. Everything becomes ordinary all at once, and none of it is easy at all. After years of giving with grace and mentoring with […]
What I Learned {September 2013}
At the end of every month, Emily Freeman shares what she’s learned, and she hosts a link-up on her blog where everyone can meet and share what they’ve learned too. And I’m joining her today! So here, in no particular order, are 10 things I learned in September… 1. God’s goodness and mercy hunts us down. As I […]
Freedom Comes When We Reveal the Truth
The day my gown glides across the carpet, I believe I’ll be married forever. But reality turns out so much differently than I’d planned. In so many ways. Bad ways. And very good ways. Good ways only because of Him. But in those years amidst the guilt and shame, my heart longed for freedom. The freedom to […]
When You Wonder if His Mercy Can Find You Too
I wear it around my neck these days, this Word mercy, that changed everything for me. This richness of God, sent from the profoundness of His deep love. A generous love I can barely grasp– a kindness I’m still at a loss to comprehend. I remember a time I thought I actually understood it, in […]
Sharing our Story: Beauty amidst Brokenness
Last December, I took a big leap and wrote my story out for the world, with the goal that just one person, who felt beyond hope, would know mercy could find them too. I asked God to allow me to know of just one person who was helped as a result of reading the words […]