Audacious, courageous, daring, fearless, bold. These are not the first words I often use to describe myself. As a young girl I would have used the words: shy, quiet, nervous, anxious, afraid. When adults would talk to me, my face would turn bright red as I quickly learned to avoid anything involving risk. As I […]

Trigger Warning: this post discusses sexual assault. SEX! Was that a jump scare? Did you feel hurt, regret, or shame in your gut? Sex is one of those topics often tiptoed around in the church but is a constant conversation in the world. From Sunday school onward, we’re told: Sex is bad. Sex is a […]

Growing up, I was always in trouble. Teachers, principals, and even my family labeled me a bad kid. I pushed kids on the playground, almost got expelled in fourth grade, and switched schools twice because I couldn’t stay out of trouble. By the time I was 9, I had already been in therapy for years […]

You’re sitting in class. It’s the third grade. You are 8 years old. Today, you are learning aboutboundaries. Boundaries are lines that separate different regions of the Earth. They can bephysical, political, or cultural. Fast forward, many years later, and boundaries have a much vastermeaning. Now, boundaries are personal, vulnerable, intimate, and much more complicated […]

To the girl who has a soft heart. Have you ever felt so deeply in a situation thatyou felt embarrassed afterward? I can think of numerous moments where I felt sopassionately about something that when I voiced that passion, I was moved to tears.That probably isn’t terrible to most people but when you’re trying to […]

When I became a Christian five years ago, I was terrified of praying for a couple of reasons.  The only solution to overcoming feeling uncomfortable about prayer, is to pray more. It can feel embarrassing to admit out loud that you’re unsure of what to pray for or that you may not know how to […]

Have you ever said to yourself, “If I could do anything for the Kingdom of God, it  would be this!” Or have you ever felt a tug on your heart to go after something  and you find yourself thinking, “Yes! Someday I would love to do that!” If that’s  you, let me ask you why […]

My life has been marked by discomfort from a very young age. Some might say I was dealt a bad hand, maybe even “cursed.” But I see it differently—I was blessed. Even in my deepest discomfort, God always showed up.  When I was just one year old, my brother, in his playful excitement, accidentally jumped […]

Over 20 years ago, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, forever altering thecourse of my life and posing an ongoing threat to my identity and confidence. Type 1Diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which your pancreas ceases to make insulin, avital hormone in your body that breaks down food and allows the proper amount […]

Late means you’ve arrived after the expected, proper, or usual time. Have you ever feltlike you were late to Christ? Ever felt like you had gone too much time without talking to him orgoing to church? Have you ever had the impression that if you didn’t grow up going to churchevery Sunday or read your […]