If you could see my spirit, it might very well look a lot like this. I think mostly scars now, not so many cracks. So many scars are evidence of where God has healed me throughout my lifetime. Wounds that used to fester have been healed by His Word, His kept promises, His love. My […]
My Year Evaluation
Happy New Year— 2022!!! This past year has been a year of lots of t-words for me— transcendence, transition, transformation, timing, and now here is my testimony. There were so many difficulties last year, and I had moments of overwhelming stress. There are things I and others have been seeking God for, on my behalf, […]
Grace and Forgiveness— My Expectations of ALL Christians
The two defining trademarks of Christianity are Grace and Forgiveness.
Managed
My eyes are opening. At least, they are trying to open. They’ve started to open before, but then I shut them. Again. Everything on the surface looks fine, looks good even. But then something happens, and they start to open again. In the past, just as they are beginning to focus, to recognize… I am […]
You Saw Me First
If I could describe my life as a mash-up with how God has always been there, it would go something like the following: Accidents, mishaps and hospital ER trips— Your protective Hand was covering me, keeping me safe from far worse. Deepest loneliness, hurts and deep-seated rejections— You’ve always accepted me, held me close to […]
MIA— Compassion and Respect
I am an Air Force Veteran. I am a woman. These two things should not be opposite sides of the time-in-voluntary-service, but unfortunately they are. There are so many variants that shaped my personal military adventure. No two experiences are alike, but if I were standing next to my also Veteran, retired, husband— he is […]
Back To My First Love
Lately my time, one-on-one with God has been a spontaneous thing, which becomes steered by intention. Something within me has changed. My perspective, or I guess my realization of the reliability— the consistent stability— of God with me. I never question His willingness to make sure I am taken care of. He has never wavered— […]
Disadvantaged And Broken
The shock is wearing off now. The sting of the jolt that rocked me is beginning to fade. Numbness that covered me fully, almost like a protective layer of clothing from the elements of harsh weather, is beginning to peel away now. Ow! It’s tempting to pull back from some of the most intense, penetrating […]
Inside the Broken
I’ve had this post bouncing around inside my head all day, wanting to just get out. As a kid, I remember waking up in the middle of the night with a sudden inspiration for writing. It was usually a poem. I recall just looking at the words I had written down, marveling at the picture […]
Heart Strings
I love rainbows. Besides being beautiful, they fascinate me. The origin and history are intriguing. Besides the colorful streams that invoke a feeling of warmth, to me they are one of the many wonders of our world. Rainbows and I also have a history. My very first memory in our shared history is seeing one […]
Words Matter– Spoken and Unspoken
Tearing down is for strongholds, not for people. Not ever for people.
Square Person in a “Well-rounded” World
Miracles are not always evident, but if you can catch just a glimpse of one, you are seeing the evidence of God in action.
Caught In The Middle
I just caught a live sermon from Elevation Worship about transitioning. As I listened, it hit me– that’s what I’m going through! I’m in such a weird place right now. I don’t mean physically, or emotionally. Not really mentally– just in life in general. I’m not young anymore, but not old. In my heart I […]
Transformed By Transcendence
I used to hold the collateral damage in Stuff it way down deep Keep it out of sight Like it was nothing but a junk heap. I used to care about What people thought But then I woke up I’m different– so what？ I’ve lived an intense life There are depths I know Created through […]
Don’t Forsake The Assembling Of ‘Ourselves’ Together
Hebrews 10:25. How many times I’ve heard that– especially when I’ve missed a service at some churches. I’ve lost count! I’ve exhausted and frustrated myself trying to jump through those hoops that lead to acceptance. What about when the assembly forsakes it’s own members? Like me. When my health started to betray me, and I […]
Unavailable
Usually I make myself available for others to talk with, to help with their online businesses, to help their friends with their online businesses… It’s rarely convenient for me. But I value people and sincerely want to help others succeed. I’m seeing how little that is actually valued beyond the moment it happens, so I’m […]
One Size Fits… Um No
I confess– I have a tendency to be a serial unasked-for advice giver. I can’t help it. I know others can glean from my experience-gained wisdom. Right? Except that’s never how it’s taken. If I’m honest, it’s also not how I take it from others, either, even though I try to be polite and respectful. […]
Suppression
With all the recent scandals from Hollywood and politicians, I’m again thinking about my own past of sexual abuse, and different reactions I’ve experienced about how I do/don’t do things. First, I’ll share some of my background. I was molested by my dad as a young girl. That in and of itself is still a […]
What I Wish Some Understood About Sexual Abuse Survivors
We live in a world full of people with as many backgrounds as there are people. No two are completely alike. In this mix, there are abusers, abuse survivors and the unaware. The category I fit into is abuse survivor. I was molested as a child, harassed as a teen and young adult, and raped […]
My Open Letter To Pastors Everywhere– You Need To Get This
Dear Pastors, Over the past 20 years I have been moved from place to place, sometimes by God, sometimes for personal reasons. That is why I’m writing this. I am no one special. I have no title, no grand purpose or calling. I am like many within your flock, under your care– part of your […]
To Know Me Is To ______ Me
1Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.” (NASB) I have a jumble of thoughts built up. Hopefully I can get them all out and place them in good […]
What Is “Conversation”?
NASV James 1:19 “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” We are studying James in our weekly Journey Group, and this is what we talked and learned about last […]
Jemtree's Heart 