a woman in a white dress stands in front of a large stone building

Dear Refuge of my weary soul, I sing a love song

What is the “new commandment” from Jesus for us? Jesus echoes 2 Kings 23:25, telling us to “turn to the LORD with all,” a holistic, embodied, interconnected turning of our affections, thoughts, and emotions. In the weary wilderness of suffering, our souls long, our emotions thirst, our bodies faint, and our minds Read more

cross with light

Depression and singing Christ’s hope

With love for my sisters in Christ from around the globe who email me about their depression…this week, I take a tangent and share some of what I’ve learned about depression. You may not be “diagnosed,” but you may be dealing with it. This week’s music therapy-inspired worship music playlist Read more

woman wearing black sleeveless dress holding white headphone at daytime

How does singing to God affect our emotions? 

I’ve recently realized that many who are reading this are like me….our suffering is ongoing, chronic, continual, likely permanent on earth, but with lots of ups and downs. No wonder our emotions follow that same pattern! We can’t be stoic about this. It hurts, we grieve losses daily, fears creep Read more

person carrying child wearing white top

Releasing into joy, in my dread of suffering

Why do I assume that tomorrow will bring more suffering?  Even if it did, why would I assume that I couldn’t possess any joy?  Maybe I need to simply ask God for His Spirit’s promised fruit of joy, to release my imagined assumptions. Who am I to predict what tomorrow Read more

teal ceramic cup and saucer

God is with me as I wait

Do you feel like you’re constantly waiting for God to do something? Does your life feel like one giant waiting game? Suffering requires so much waiting, doesn’t it? My latest round of suffering has brought a newly convicting awareness of my needed mindset shift in the waiting. It started on Read more

tiny gold christmas gift

Praising Jesus for His power and glory in the New Year 2021

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, dear sister in Christ!  My birthday arrives during Epiphany, right after Christmas. As a young child, I always felt the bummer that I was on winter break from school, so I never got the same birthday attention my friends did. I always missed the Read more

A Wilderness To-Do List

I am a planner. As a teacher, I love planning backwards from goals, creating objectives and experiences for students. I love day planners, to-do lists, lesson plan templates. I look forward to events and gleefully plan details. Now, lists are shredded with canceled, ended plans and I’m left with an Read more

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