There are things I know I should do that still scare me. Send the email. Have the conversation. Network (this one is especially tough for me!m). Start the thing I've been thinking about. I have learned over the years that knowing what to do doesn't always make doing it easy. I think we can assume that if God is leading us somewhere, we'll feel completely confident about it. Like obedience should come with a sense of peace, excitement, and certainty. That has not always been m

Every fiber of my being wants to know what I am saying yes to before I say yes. I want the details. I want to know where something is going, what it will require, and how it will turn out. I want the whole picture before I take the first step and I think that can creep into our relationship with God, too. We ask Him, What’s next? But underneath that question can be another one: Can You show me where this is going first? Last month, we spent a lot of time asking God questions

There are some things that are easy to tell God we're trusting Him with. The things we don't care that much about. The things we're already pretty sure will work out. The things where we have a backup plan just in case. And then there are the things that make us grip a little tighter. The decision we've been praying about for months. The door we've been hoping will open. The opportunity we don't want to miss. The relationship we desperately want God to restore. The thing we'v

Have you ever been so afraid of making the wrong decision that you couldn't make a decision at all? You think through every possibility. You make a list of pros and cons. You ask three different people what they think. You pray about it. Then you pray about it again. And just when you think you've finally decided, you start wondering if you missed something. What if this isn't what God wants? What if I choose wrong? What if I walk through the wrong door and somehow miss the l

Have you ever had something happen and immediately thought, "Is this it?" Maybe an opportunity comes along that seems almost too perfectly timed or you've been praying about something for months and suddenly a door opens. I've been there! I think sometimes we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to know exactly what every opportunity means. Is this God? Is this the door I've been waiting for? Am I supposed to walk through it? What if I say no and miss what God has for me? What

Have you ever been in the middle of something and thought, "Okay, God. I just need to know if I'm supposed to keep going." Not because you don't care about it or you're ready to quit. You're just tired of wondering whether all this effort is actually leading somewhere. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. There are things I'm working toward that I genuinely believe are worth pursuing. I'm putting in the work. I'm showing up. I'm trying to be faithful with the opportuni

I am so excited to invite you into my journey of figuring out "what's next?" Should I keep going? Is this the door? What if I get it wrong? Can I trust You with this? For the entire month of September, we'll talk about waiting, discernment, anxiety, surrender, and learning to trust God when we can't see what's ahead. And I made a free 30-day September Journaling Calendar to go with it. One question. One day. A little time with God. I can't wait to see how the Lord moves in ou

I don't know about you, but I really like knowing what's next. I like having a plan. I like knowing where I'm going, what I'm working toward, and what I should be doing to get there. Give me a goal and a checklist and I am usually pretty happy. Lately, though, I've found myself in a season where I don't have a clear answer to the question, "What's next?" And if I'm being honest, that can make me anxious. There are things I know I'm supposed to keep doing. There are things I'v

There is a strange little window at the end of summer when nobody really knows what day it is anymore. The kids have been sleeping later. Bedtimes have become more of a suggestion. You may or may not have eaten dinner outside three nights in a row. There are probably swimsuits in a pile somewhere that you have stopped noticing. And then, almost overnight, fall starts showing up. The school supply aisle appears. The mornings are suddenly cooler. Someone starts talking about fo

Have you ever walked into someone's home and immediately noticed something about it? Not the furniture. Not the paint color. Not whether the floors had just been vacuumed. Something you couldn't quite put your finger on. Some homes feel peaceful. Some are full of laughter. Some make you feel welcomed the moment you walk through the door. Others feel rushed, tense, or like everyone is simply trying to get through the day. The more I've thought about it, the more I've realized

Have you ever noticed how different you feel after making something? Not buying something. Not scrolling through pictures of what someone else made. Actually making something with your own hands. Maybe it's baking cookies with your kids. Planting flowers in the backyard. Writing in a journal. Playing an instrument. Or building something in the garage. Whatever it is, there's something about creating that slows us down. Our hands get busy, our minds become more present, and fo

I like knowing what is next. In fact, not knowing really stresses me out. I like calendars, checklists, and having at least a rough idea of what's coming next. There is something comforting about seeing the whole picture before taking the first step. But following Jesus has rarely worked that way. I think if we're honest, most of us would love for God to hand us a blueprint. We want to know where we're going, how long it will take, what obstacles we'll face, and whether every

There are very few things that can bring thousands of strangers together the way music can. People from different backgrounds, different generations, and completely different stories gather in one place. Then the lights go down, the first note is played, and suddenly everyone is singing the same lyrics together. Some people are dancing. Others have tears in their eyes. For a little while, it feels like everything else fades into the background. I've always loved live music. T

Are you like me? Do you see a need and feel like you should try to help even if you don't have the capacity for it? I am a biologial first-born child and naturally fit the sterotype pretty well even though I was raised as the youngest post-adoption. I find it fascinating how biological birth order can have an inpact on things. It's a cool way that God created us uniquely, I believe. There have been seasons of my life where carrying responsibilities crushed me because I though

There are moments in motherhood where you know exactly what you need to do. Slow down. Step away for a minute. Regulate. Reset. But you also know… you can’t. Because someone needs something right now. Because there’s too much noise. Because you're in the car. Because someone dumped out the sensory bucket of sand. Because it’s nearing the end summer and everything is much louder, sweatier, and the bickering is more constant than usual. And you have to keep pressing on. Summer

As we approach the 250th birthday of America, a lot of us are thinking about the word freedom and immediately associate it with independence. The ability to say what we want. The ability to believe what we want. The ability to live how we want. But lately, I’ve been reflecting on some of the areas where I looked the most “free” externally were actually the places where I felt the most internally bound. Whether by pressure, fear, or perfectionism, I think many people are carry

When my kids were all really little, there were seasons where I assumed something was wrong with my spiritual life. I would sit down to pray or read my Bible and feel immediately distracted. I would go through the motions and not feel much of anything. Or, honestly, when I still had a baby, toddler, and preschooler, there were times I would just fall asleep on my couch with my Bible open. My first conclusion was always the same: something must be off between me and God. I sli

I love being near the water. There’s something magical about walking the shoreline at night. I am naturally a night owl and love the hush of the world around me, the whisper of waves rolling onto the sand, the cool grains shifting beneath my feet. The moon casts a silver path across the water, and the stars stretch endlessly above. These moments are when I feel the Lord is closest to me. The ocean is my favorite. It is deep, powerful, and alive with unseen currents. It is bot

Lately, I've been realizing how easy it is to slip into the mindset that my life is just a constant work in progress. I spend a lot of time thinking about what needs to change next. Even the good stuff can start to feel like just another step towards something better, instead of something of embracing what I have in front of me. I didn't really notice how much I was caught up in this until recently. I hoped that once my ducks were more in a row and things were more organized,

I cannot tell you how many times I have stared at my phone debating whether or not I should invite someone to do something. Not because I didn’t want to see them, but because I was tired of feeling like I was always the one initiating. Always the one texting first. Always the one planning the get together. Always the one checking in. Always the one making the effort. At some point, I think a lot of women genuinely wonder if I stopped reaching out, would anyone notice? And hon