Posts

green typewriter on table

For the Sake of Personal Expansion

An invitation to return to the blank page

Jun 25, 2024

It was when I started dusting the living room blinds that it really became apparent. I had been engaging in avoidance behavior for weeks but never really called it out as that; I was simply being productive, getting things done. But when dusting entered the picture, my least favorite house chore, I couldn’t deny it any longer—I was seriously avoiding writing.

Creative Writing Creative Process Growth Art Creativity

person inside a plant maze

Committed to the Seeking

Learning to consistently draw near to God

Apr 29, 2024

I looked around me at all the women gathered in this dim worship center, raised hands and eyes closed, some swaying side to side, singing their hearts out, and I felt nothing. I turned my gaze back to the stage and tried to concentrate harder on the lyrics, as if mouthing them might prompt the Holy Spirit to grace me with its presence.

God Faith Growth Life Lessons Reflections

cherry blossom tree from below angle

Small Doses of Replenishment

Learning how to create sustainable renewal

Feb 19, 2024

Spring is less than a month away. I can feel it in the air. The temperature rising into the upper 50s. The sound of birds preparing to look for the perfect tree to call home. Walking by a small lake in our neighborhood, I see the ducks and geese have returned to the thawed water. It was still frozen not more than a week ago. The tiniest of buds have begun appearing on the trees in our backyard.

Transformation Change Seasons Surrender Renewal

woman sitting in a field holding a mirror and looking at herself smiling

The Courage to Face Ourselves

Thoughts on our capacity for self-reflection

Feb 12, 2024

It was the small mirror that first caught my eye as I approached the table to sit down. It was accompanied by a large light brown paper for coloring and markers. I didn’t know any of the other 15 or so people who signed up for this Poetry Workshop. But it sounded right up my alley and worth giving up every Saturday morning in February for. The theme of the workshop—self-portrait.

Self-Awareness Mental Health Psychology Introspection Contemplation

weighing scale photo in a shop

Saving Us from Madness

Harmonizing our need for change and routine

Jan 30, 2024

Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, take a lunch break, finish work, eat dinner, work out, shower, go to sleep. Sprinkle in chores, cleaning, and running errands every other day. We all have our own versions of daily routines. And let’s be honest, they don’t change all that much. There are those rare special-occasion days, or those tragic-news days, or the travel days, but everything in-between is fairly ordinary.

Change Reflections Habits Life Happiness

vintage analog alarm clocks

An Underlying Request for Affirmation

Reflections on our obsession with productivity

Jan 23, 2024

Only three weeks into the new year and I’m already exhausted. Could it be the dreary weather, the lack of sunshine and daylight? Or could it be the all-too-familiar “new year’s rush”? That sense of jumping on the bandwagon of creating goals and resolutions and intentions and then trying to stick to them without fail. Wanting to do all the things.

Human Condition New Year Reflections Self-Care Soul

chained window frame in dim light

Purpose Behind Every Limitation

The freedom found in obedience to God’s commands

Jan 18, 2024

Walking out of my orthopedic appointment, I felt immediate relief in my left shoulder. The injection was kicking in and I almost cried from joy. I went home and immediately scheduled my prescribed physical therapy for the next six weeks. This was a familiar scenario. Only six years ago I was doing the same thing for my right shoulder. The diagnosis? Bursitis in both cases.

God Life Lessons Reflections Habits Change

gray concrete statue of woman

Permission to Create Freely

Seeing writer’s block from a different angle

Jan 10, 2024

I have to say, I don’t always feel like being “self-aware” when I sit down to write. Sometimes I just want the ideas and words to flow without having to go to a deeper place within me. But Victoria argues that making art involves the whole person, all of me. No shortcuts, no sidestepping. This is indeed both a blessing and a curse.

Creative Process Creativity Artist Art Writing

green leaf seedling plant in dry leaves

Overflowing with Fresh Seedling

A new year’s ritual of mindful surrender

Jan 01, 2024

January 1st. It carries so much weight. So much pressure and expectation placed on it. Some carried over from last year. The older I’m getting, the less I make new year’s resolutions and instead, think of intentions I have for the year. What mindset do I want to approach the new year with? What energy do I want to bring into it?

New Year Habits Reflections Transformation Goals

grayscale of two young girls laughing

Places That Increase Our Holiness

Learning to put away childish things

Sep 04, 2023

I’ve been reflecting on this verse for some time now, especially as I’m nearing my 40s. The instruction is simple enough. But can I be honest? This is something I struggle with. Have for my entire adult life. I have always thought of myself as a child at heart, viewing the world with a childlike naiveté. I’d like to think it’s how God made me.

God Personal Growth Reflections Change Seasons

escalator going down into busy street

Inertia of the Soul

Finding ways to resuscitate our deepest desires

Aug 13, 2023

Overstimulated. It’s a word we hear quite often, especially in our social media–heavy, technology-obsessed, devices-galore, insta-everything world. It happens to kids and adults alike, and it’s hard to get away from. We can take social media breaks, go on silent retreats, take a vacation, detox, and meditate, but eventually we find ourselves right back in hyper-stimulation mode.

Soul Motivation Seasons Self-Awareness Calling

red bricks with weeds

One Stone at a Time

Binding the disconnected parts of us

Aug 06, 2023

We spotted him while walking around our neighborhood, fixing a neighbor’s front yard steps. My husband approached him to ask about his services, since we were looking for someone to fix our backyard steps. He would be coming by a few days later to give us a quote. I was grateful, a few less phone calls I’d have to make trying to get multiple quotes.

Connection Seasons Identity Personal Growth

brown home sweet home wall frame

Anchored to the Ground

Feeling at home right where we are

Jul 23, 2023

I was leaving the gym on a Wednesday afternoon, walking to my car in the parking lot when it hit me. That feeling that this is where we belong, where we’re supposed to lay down roots. “This” being the town my husband and I live in. It didn’t last very long, that pleasant, comforting feeling, but it lasted long enough for me to feel reassured in our decision to move here almost two years ago.

God Reflections Life Lessons Perspective Community

tree trunk engraved with red heart

Because the World Needs Beauty

Thoughts on creative work and why it matters

Jul 16, 2023

Create anyway. This seems to be a buzzword (or “buzzphrase” rather) at the moment, a phrase I’ve been hearing quite a bit in different creative circles. In fact, there is a book that just came out by that very name. The idea is as it sounds—no matter what is going on in your life, or in the world, go ahead and create beautiful things anyway, even if in the larger scheme of things, they’re not essential.

Creativity Creative Process Art Artist Persistence

woman with long hair and long-sleeve floral shirt

A Salve on Wounded Hearts

Nurturing our gifts for a greater purpose

Jul 08, 2023

I feel too much. It’s a problem, really. But also, strangely, a gift. One I didn’t ask for. One I question more often than I should. Some days it takes the form of codependency. Other days it shapes into empathy and compassion. And frequently, it manifests as sensitivity. Whatever name I give it, its impact is the same—a heaviness in my chest, a strong desire to cry, a confinement of spirit, a disconnect from the present moment.

Feelings Emotions Self-Acceptance Reflections Identity

butterfly transforming

The Serenity We Seek

Our inherent desire for transformation

May 28, 2023

My latest TV show obsession is flipping shows—houses, flea market finds, clothing. On a Canadian show called “Hoarder House Flippers,” three teams of house flippers buy abandoned hoarder houses for a low price and turn them into desirable homes to resell for profit. On another show, “Flea Market Flip,” contestants in each episode are given a budget of $500 to hunt for three pieces at a flea market that they then refurbish in the hopes of reselling them for a profit at the same flea market.

Transformation Change Growth Mindset

2 people from waist down wearing denim and holding paint brushes

A Divine-Filled Practice

Inviting God into the details

May 22, 2023

The fifth guy in one week showed up today to give us a quote. Seems all we’ve been doing lately is getting quotes for different services we need done around the house. Now it’s the front yard gate that needs repairing as well as our driveway, which needs a new seal coat. “Happy homeowning,” one salesman sarcastically said to me on the phone the other day.

God Gratitude Christianity Perspective

person hands with paint on them

Called to Create

Art as a reflection of God’s character

May 14, 2023

Lately writing in and of itself has not felt like enough. In this day and age, it seems to be all about product. I feel an immense pressure to monetize my writing, to package it up into a beautiful box, market it, and sell it. Not just that, but to ensure it stands out among others in order to be valuable. The mere act of writing, of finishing a blog post and publishing it, seems to have lost meaning.

God Creative Process Art Artist Creativity

brown wooden cabinet with mirror

Blossoming Beyond Our Crutches

Tending to our Achilles heels and overcoming fears

May 07, 2023

I watch her as she struggles to wrap the overstuffed burrito, smiling awkwardly. She motions for her coworker to come to her rescue. I’m guessing she’s new, hasn’t gotten the hang of the wrapping part yet. I’m sure it takes a while. This one looks impossible to me, personally, no matter how much training you’ve had, based on the amount of the ingredients. It’s not rocket science.

Growth Self-Improvement Fear Change Battles

black and white photo of human palm with leaf

A Welcome Landing Place

Revisiting the why behind our work

Apr 30, 2023

It’s the last full week of April. This is around the time of year where my motivation to keep going with my goals and resolutions that were set at the beginning of the year begins to take a deep dive. And it doesn’t help that Mercury is in retrograde. The old insidious questions I try hard to push to the back of my mind resurface—what is the point of all this? Why am I wasting my time?

Motivation Writing Creative Process Creativity Art
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