"On the outside, you're free to roam. On the outside, you've found a home. On the outside, there's more to see. On the outside, we choose to be…" ~needtobreathe
You know how any moment can transcend into a holy moment? You can be numbly working your way through washing a pile of dirty dishes when suddenly, a wave of gratefulness washes over you. Nothing really happened to trigger it, except seeing your kids outside the kitchen window playing in the yard. Or you suddenly … Read more Holy
If there is one chapter in the Bible that can stand relevant to humanity in any timeline or culture, it’s 2 Corinthians 3! This beautifully-written chapter gives us a glimpse into just how spiritually shameless and unafraid Paul was. Verse 4-“Such confidence we have through Christ before God!” This kind of confidence is utterly devoid … Read more Such Confidence
You must come, for God is already drawing. You must believe, for God is already teaching. You must follow, for God is already leading. You must receive, for God is already giving. The story of Redemption is written from Beginning to End. It is finished. God is telling your story. He is the Author of … Read more Can You Believe It?
For those who drink the cup of suffering. For those who taste the bitterness and yet still drink. For those whose souls are in torment, who feel torn in pieces and tossed around by circumstances outside of your control. If your soul cries out in anguish this very day…lean in. Do not take up the … Read more The Cup of Suffering
I am the exile, the rejected desert-wanderer who experiences God as inconsistent, controlling, violent and retributive. I have lived my life in an endlessly repeated cycle of love and devotion followed by idolatry, shame and punishment. They say I am a child of God, but how long have I lived under Moses, my accuser? I … Read more Exile
I typically say that my recent “awakening” happened at the beginning of 2019. What I’ve come to realize, though, is that it really all began in January 2018.You can call it a spiritual awakening, or the deconstruction of my faith…whatever it was, I remember coming to a place much like Jacob did when he wrestled … Read more this man called Jesus
When I was in middle school I had a t shirt with the three monkeys representing the philosophy of “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” on the front. You’ve probably seen them at some point in your life. They’re three little monkeys sitting next to one another. One has its hands over … Read more Chapter Three: Fear No Evil
So much of my life has been spent in church. I don’t mean an actual church building, although I’ve also spent a huge amount of time in other people’s church buildings. The Freedom Village church was a fluorescent-lit chapel within an old administration building, with long pews and a massive pulpit planted front and center. … Read more Chapter Two: Pulpits & Pedestals
I cried out to God “HOW LONG, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you,’Violence!’ but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife and conflict abounds.The law is … Read more Chapter One: How Long Lord
At the moment I have 332 entries in the Notes app on my phone. A few months into the deconstruction of my faith (which you can read all about in my blog post titled ”Deconstructing Sandcastles”) I began to opt for unriddling my thoughts using my phone rather than pen and paper. My hand was … Read more Father
I know exactly how you feel. Like everything is just…so…hard. Somehow the more work you put into your faith, the more exhausted and unhappy you become. You try to keep the sin out of your life, but most of the time you do exactly what you are trying to avoid. You’re afraid of being found … Read more Letter To The Exhausted Legalist
When I think about dancing, it’s the same as if I were thinking about aspects of my own personality, or my eye color, or my height. Dancing is a part of me. I was born to be a dancer. God knew that the musical genetics of my family, combined with the creative brain He designed … Read more ~Reverence~ The End of a Season with Dance
Well, hello there! You may have been wondering where I’ve been. Or, probably you haven’t. This blog certainly has had a weird existence, beginning roughly 8-9 years ago when I was a young mom. I needed a place to write my thoughts down, and mostly I was reaching out to see if anyone else felt … Read more Deconstructing Sandcastles: A Church Kid’s Journey Through Doubt
Five months ago, as I was unraveling the tangled ball of thread that is my belief, I came upon one thread that I knew was important. Not just important, but critical. As I worked through the knots of grey threading, I had suddenly pulled out a thick cord of scarlet red. One year earlier, I … Read more What Would You Do: If God stood before you right now?
Today, my unriddling comes from a controversial topic amongst Christians: “Can you lose your salvation?” If salvation is a gift, can or will God decide that you are actually not worthy enough for it (no, duh) and take back His gift? Or is it more of a question if we can return that gift? Can … Read more Salvation: Can we lose or return the gift?