Ready or not, today is here.
Full of all that is yet to be.
Breathe it in and accept the gift.
Let today wash over you with a thrill, An excitement of anticipation.

Our souls long for Jesus. Whether or not we are always aware of it, our souls have a longing for the Savior. The character of God draws us to Him; our souls are attracted to His authenticity, His authority, and His acceptance. We can deny our soul what it longs for, but we will then experience a hangry soul.

Then, I grew up and learned things. Kindergarten became incredibly vital to my understanding of mountain ranges and it drastically changed my viewpoint of the Grapevine. With crayons in hand, I learned how to draw mountains.

“Breaking open” implies life. Odd, but true. Hard, but healing. The seedling breaks open to reveal the sapling. The acorn breaks open to share the seeds. The eggs break and hatch new, curious life. The cocoon is split and an independent butterfly breaks out. The broken pinata is much more enjoyable, the broken glow stick reveals the magic, and the breaking of a new day whispers new hope.

If you haven’t really sat down and had a conversation with a young child recently, I would encourage you too. There is something so life-giving in the combination of their innocence and brilliance. We adults have a lot to learn from their blend of assurance and curiosity, their intellect and creativity, and their awareness and sensitivity. 

What if these words could actually accentuate the positive and shed light on the goodness of life? What if these words were flipped and used to highlight the faithfulness of God, despite the circumstances at hand? 

2021 was a hard year. Overwhelming would be an accurate adjective to apply.

His first Christmas wasn’t easy. Maybe your Christmas is never easy and hardly joyful. This year though, you can choose HOME. You may still feel sorrow and you may still sit in disappointment, but you can find peace for your aching soul in the intimacy of Christ.

Sometimes, God’s gifts are confusing. I wouldn’t call them “bad,” but I would label them with the sticker-styled name-tag as “hard.” There are things that show up in camouflage - not hidden in cruelty - rather, sheltered in mystery.

during the past five years, this belief has been through the fire. My husband and I dealt with countless extended family issues, including mental health challenges, broken relationships, and unhealthy dynamics.

Sometimes I feel like I spend most of my life waiting; hovering on the dash between the need and the answer. The gap where I feel like Mr. Time taunts and teases. The wait-game. Played by us all on a daily basis. The game of traffic, check-out lines, drive-thrus, pay-days, school car lines, staff meetings, roasts in ovens, Christmas morning, and the list continues…