Hills and Valleys

     This pandemic has gone on for over a year. It has touched many. The ways are limitless and listing them is not important for this post as we all have been effected.      What prompted this post was another post I recently was an audience to. A post on someone stating their opinions on the COVID vaccine. And what I saw ripped my heart apart. People tearing other people down for their choices. Calling them "followers of the crowd" or "the reason COVID exists." Both sides were harsh and strong in their need to be heard.      This isn't the first conversation I have seen like this lately. With topics of the vaccine, racism, and politics all over the place, it makes me search my heart     Do I value being right more than I value the relationship?     Now do not hear me wrong, there is value in our voices. Our words matter and empower. They are necessary, but only when seasoned with love, dear friends.      "...

In my walk with the Lord, I am in constant conversation with the Father. I'm someone who goes to the grocery store and talks to God about the produce; or driving to or from work, I'll talk to Him about my day; or I'll be in the middle of something frustrating and just talking to God through it.  But the word, "conversation" implies a two way street of talking. And it's true, I often hear God talk back. It may be the stillness in chaos. It may be the sense of needing to do something that wouldn't make sense in my natural/logical mind. And sometimes, I hear the audible voice of God so clearly that I can't deny it's Him. Today, in the middle of the day, I was just going about my routines and heard clear as day, "Grow in grace." So, first off, let's be clear: I have received a ton of grace from the Father BUT I am not at all graceful. Physically and emotionally, I am a hot mess. Albeit a fun hot mess with coffee, glitter and Jesus, but st...

 Of all the things 2020 taught me, perhaps one of the most valuable was the value of self-care. We live in a fast paced culture; and while we are very self centered in general as a culture, we often neglect self-care. First, let's define self care. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines self-care simply as "care for oneself." Seems simple, right? I mean we all have similar needs --- food, sleep, drinking water, basic hygiene. But yet, sometimes in the business of life, the quality of even those things get neglected. We run a thousand miles an hour and do a hundred things and then wonder why we're burnt out.  Life is hard. That's a reality. But we don't always have to burn our candles at both ends. We are no good to a parched world, pouring from an empty cup. It might mean taking a walk, taking time to do my hair, making a nice meal that I like, or trying something new. On a deeper level, it might mean saying "No," creating boundaries, verbalizing you...