Uncompromised

  Known by God, Held by Hope Oh Lord, You know my heart. You know exactly where I am today.  You know my thoughts and my words even before they come out of my mouth. I am here, Lord. Use me. Today, I am sad. There are days when sadness arrives quietly and other days when it feels heavier. Today, the sadness is tied to longing. I am missing my mom. I miss her voice, her presence, and the comfort of knowing she was near. Even after time has passed, grief has a way of returning, often when we least expect it. I am fully aware of all that God is doing for me. I see His provision and His faithfulness. I recognize the many ways He has carried me and continues to sustain me. Yet knowing God is at work does not erase the ache of missing someone we love. Gratitude and grief can live in the same heart. Faith and sadness can exist together. The Lord knows this. Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. You underst...

Rainy, cold day. It didn’t start this calm, running around making lunch for our son, getting everything ready for the day. But everyone walked out the door laughing and joyful, and that alone fills my heart. There is something about hearing those little bursts of happiness as my family heads off to their day, it reminds me that life is full of small, precious moments. If you know me, you know I am a planner. I love my days mapped out, hours marked, and goals lined up. I usually have a list of things to do and a plan for how to get it all done. But today, as the rain tapped softly against the windows, and the house settled into quiet, I felt the Lord nudging me to slow down. So I made a choice, no checking my art sales, my plans, or my classes. Today would be a calm, slow day. And oh, it is good, so good for the soul and for the body. The house is quiet, Moe has been extra sweet, curling up nearby, and it is warm inside. I have been savoring the simplicity of this moment, the comfort of...

  Solace: Words of Consolation On November 5, 2023, something very simple and very precious to my heart came into the world: Solace: Words of Consolation . It is not a big book. It is not fancy. It is a small booklet, a quiet gathering of black and white photographs I captured during one of the hardest seasons of my life, paired with the Scriptures that held me together. For several months, I was a full-time caregiver for my mom. Those were sacred, exhausting, tender days where love and grief lived side by side. And when she passed suddenly, the ground beneath me shifted in ways I still struggle to put into words. The verses in this booklet are Scriptures friends shared with me, prayed over me, and passages the Lord pressed gently into my heart. Solace began there, on the floor of my heart. Every page in this little booklet was prayed over. I put it together slowly, sometimes with tears, sometimes with deep breaths, and always with the reminder that the living Word of God was w...

Got our Advent devotional in the mail yesterday, year 12! Even as a teenager, our son got excited about it. There is something about opening that little package each year, the anticipation, the familiar cover, the feeling of starting something meaningful together. In the middle of all the beautiful lights, music, decorations, and the busyness of the season, this tradition gently reminds us to keep our hearts focused on Him, the true reason we celebrate. As I get older, I treasure these moments even more. The years go by so fast, and the quiet times with family, reading a passage together, talking about what it means, sharing our thoughts and prayers, become the memories that truly last. These moments shape our hearts and fill us with joy that no one can take. Philippians reminds us to rejoice in the Lord always, and Romans encourages us to trust in Him so that we overflow with hope and peace. Nehemiah tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and when we anchor our hearts in H...

Poking the Wound: When God Heals What Lies Beneath If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ve probably heard me talk about “poking the wound.” Years ago, because of my autoimmune disease, I developed a wound on my left leg. It was tiny, just the size of a penny, but it would not heal. Because of immunosuppressants, my body stayed dormant, unresponsive to the injury. My husband took me to a wound doctor, and they taught us how to clean and care for it, but it wasn’t enough. My body wasn’t reacting. Then the doctor explained something I’ll never forget: the wound had to be poked. Unless it was stirred, my body would not recognize it as something that needed healing. So day after day, we poked it. At times it looked worse before it looked better, but it was the only way to stimulate the body’s God-designed response to heal. Eventually, it closed completely. That picture has become such a spiritual truth for me. Because as believers, we can live faithfully, attending church, studyin...

  “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:12) “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.” (Matthew 15:18) Look around. It feels like a horror movie we cannot turn off. The news reads like satire, yet the satire is reality. The lie of “my truth” has taken root in hearts, and the coldness is shocking.  Tragedy becomes celebration, sin is worn as pride, and lives without Christ beat empty, hopeless, meaningless. And it is not only out there. In some churches, cold hearts have crept in. Smiles and polite words hide bitterness, envy, and pride. Words reveal the heart. Fruit reveals the tree. "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit" (Matthew 12:33). The urgency is real. There is no time for lukewarm hearts, complacent speech, or shallow faith. Every word, every action, every fruit matters. We cannot grow numb o...

  Start Here: Letting the Word Dwell Deeply in Real Life This morning I was meditating on Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” There’s so much beauty in that verse. It’s poetic, rich, full of community and worship and grace. And yet, when I read it, part of me also whispered, “Lord, I want this… but some days it feels so far from my reality.” Let’s be honest. We’re living in a time of constant noise and busyness. There’s always something to do, something to respond to. A constant moment of stopping and checking, “Am I forgetting anything?” Even when we want to sit down with the Word, our phones buzz, our minds wander, and our to-do lists scream louder than the pages in front of us. I’m not an anxious person, but I can be impatient. I like things to move, even if it’s slowly, I want to see growth, progress, directi...