When something painful wounds us, we need to handle it gently, taking care to assess and clean it out. But then healing needs to follow—hopefully with minimal scarring—but it definitely needs to happen.

Why am I talking about netball courts and awkward prepubescent interactions? Because now, in 2024, at 36 years of age, I still feel the same way.

I don’t believe God stops talking. I think He’s speaking right now. But the noise of life and the voices in our head get in the way, and His whisper goes unheard.

You’d be hard-pressed to find something more rebellious in today's age than sabbath.

It’s ok, I think, to spend a few precious tears on yourself. It’s ok to do it dramatically on the floor, to show just how low things have physically gotten. God sees that too.

My city doesn’t have many climbing trees. And if you did start to climb, some strange person walking past with a small crowd of friends might call you down and invite themselves over for lunch after saving your soul.

I’m a bit of a snob. I like my coffee houses how I like my men: I stick with just the one.

Miss you a lot. Funny how we don’t say that over the phone. But there it is. There are a few people in my life who would give a kidney to be able to say that to their dad a couple more times. So I wanted to say it now.

Perhaps it’s best to avert your eyes, avoiding the nuances and the pain. Maybe if it’s not seen it can be tidy and clear, sparing you from wading into the unfathomable mess.

My feelings were being confronted with truth, and truth trumps feelings.

This year we spent a week out in a town called Letenye, helping at a camp that our team helps to facilitate.

In a job where we think we’re here to do good and bring God, light, and the gospel, what I’m finding is that there is a concurrent journey of God bringing light to the darkest recesses of my heart.

It’s a common misperception that only the most spiritually devout person can cross oceans and mountains to do this sort of thing, and it’s not a viewpoint that I’m not keen on upholding. The truth is that we were so comfortable in our life that in order to do anything of worth we needed to leave the nest, so to speak.

I’ve said goodbye to so many things since being here, and it is not an understatement to say that I was not prepared for any of them. There have been so many goodbyes. Grief, on the other hand, now that’s not quite so automatic.

What about those moments when you’re honing in on a dragon? What happens when it’s taking all your concentration and discipline to defeat that which is in front of you? How do you make sure your back is safe?

Shocking confession: About a month before I was married to my husband, I went on a date with another man.

When jumping off the couch too quickly means twisting an ankle or pulling a muscle, requiring two weeks of care and restoration, one can start to feel a little worse for the wear.

We actually have more to learn and less to offer than we think, and the sooner we learn that the more useful we can be.

Well, this month has been a whirlwind and I’m in need of a fairytale ending, preferably not Grimms.

As I’ve consistently said, this past year I’ve found myself in some of the darkest, coldest places internally; it’s been a real challenge at times. But even when I find myself in that cold place, I have still felt the warmth of the sun on the back of my neck.