Why hope matters

Depression comes in many varieties. There’s the subtle type that most of us deal with off and on, a slight melancholy that hits us throughout the day for different reasons and passes quickly. There’s the all-consuming experience of panic, which can make you absolutely desperate and tempt you to make drastic choices for any kind […]

A prayer of repentance to truly know God

Father, though we have sinned against you and are not worthy, we humbly beseech you to deliver us from ourselves. We have made you, your Son, and your Spirit in our image and likeness and not sought to know who you truly are. We have prophesied in your name, and in your name driven out […]

The shattered pieces of our hearts

My body and my heart have been betraying me of late. Physical illness combined with a broken heart is a heck of a one-two punch and can take us to really dark places. But I don’t want to write yet another lament about my misfortunes in love. The temptation is there as I wrestle once […]

Remembering Jacob Wisener

None of us are here without the sacrifice and effort of those who came before. One reason I’ve become attracted to family history is the deeper appreciation I have for how fleeting life is. You don’t have to go very far back in your ancestry before you come across people who are integral to your […]

Only one hope

I stopped writing in this space months ago to focus on putting together a book that has been incredibly slow going. I haven’t given up on the book, but my progress is depressing to me. It’s easier to think of jotting down my thoughts within the confines of several hundred words here than in the […]

The need to remember, lest we forget

It’s been a hard couple of years. I was ridiculously stressed at my job, only to switch positions and – four months ago – lose it altogether. I’ve recently moved. I’ve had a complex love life. I’m dealing with the increasing physical affects of aging more rapidly. My daughter has left childhood for puberty and […]

Accepting yourself, accepting love

I’ve struggled with self-hatred for many years. I have a very difficult time giving myself any grace or forgiveness for the mistakes I’ve made and the struggles I’ve had. I hate my character defects and the way I’ve succumbed to fear and panic; the pain they’ve caused others. Over a year ago, a good friend […]