Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work (and what to do about it)

"New year, new me." We all said, heard, or had this thought about a month ago when we replaced our 2022 calendars with our 2023 ones. Excited about the new year and hopeful for change, we imagined our best selves and meticulously made plans to get there. We'd read our Bibles within the year, wake … Continue reading Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work (and what to do about it) →

God’s Kindness in The Year I Got Married🤍

From January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2022... Adjunct instructor to content creator. Honey & Hazel to Honey & Maple (and Natasha). Mississippi to Tennessee. Girlfriend to wife. My life is so vastly different at the start of this year than it was at the start of the last that I wanted to record the … Continue reading God’s Kindness in The Year I Got Married🤍 →

Surprised by Mercy

For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:Psalm 95:7-8 The shrieks from outside can’t be good. In fact, … Continue reading Surprised by Mercy →

Surprised by Sadness

Zzz. Zzz. Zzzzzz. And no, that's not sound of me catching some Z's -- that's the buzz of what sounds like a chainsaw to me. I'd seen the two men who work on the land regularly pull up the drive earlier. Just another project, I think. But when I go out to see what all … Continue reading Surprised by Sadness →

Surprised by Imperfection

It's finally time to leave the grocery store -- with my half-size cart, groceries stacked so high they surpass the height of the metal that tries to contain them. I blink in the light of the sun as the glass doors part before me. To my diagonal left, a woman waddles towards me, entering the … Continue reading Surprised by Imperfection →

Surprised by (Not) Seeing

I pull my vehicle to a stop between two cars at 10:53. Seven whole minutes early, I smugly think. My right hand mechanically twists the key from the ignition and reaches for the ever-important mask before grabbing coffee. I come-to quickly, freeze momentarily. It's not there. Retracing my steps, I remember with clarity leaving one … Continue reading Surprised by (Not) Seeing →

Surprised by Sparsity

Pines tower above, boasting the few needles that were strong enough to bear the weight of the wintry mix of the week prior. Majestic and strong, the graceful giants taunt bare hickories and sweet gums -- runts of the forest, bereft of beauty. But are they? I squash their remnants beneath my feet: old sweet … Continue reading Surprised by Sparsity →

How to Be Grateful No Matter What

A few weeks ago as a follow-up to a few posts I'd written on being grateful, I asked my friends on Instagram which circumstance was the hardest for them to be grateful in. Unsurprisingly, most said seasons of suffering and/or loss, of which this year has had no shortage. We've lost opportunities, jobs, and in … Continue reading How to Be Grateful No Matter What →

Receiving in Thanksgiving

“’Thank You,’ Betsie went on serenely, ‘for the fleas and for—'” (210). Last week, when I read this line in The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, I honestly didn’t believe my eyes. She and her sister, Betsie, were serving time in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, and on one particularly tough day, they … Continue reading Receiving in Thanksgiving →

Receiving with Open Hands and a Grateful Heart

(6-minute read) We’ve all been there at least once in our lives—and maybe it even happened to you the week before last: the center of attention, all eyes watching as you rip paper off a box containing a carefully selected gift. Children are crowded at your feet; adults are on pins and needles to see … Continue reading Receiving with Open Hands and a Grateful Heart →