My midwife told me when I was birthing my second baby girl that if I held my breath the contractions would hurt even more. My natural reaction in pain is to tense my muscles and hold my breath to avoid the pain. In childbirth, I needed deep, long, measured breaths to carry me through the pain. Somehow breathing through the pain helped release the [...] Keep Reading
Featured
Books to help kids of all ages navigate grief
When my husband soared to heaven nine years ago, my daughters were ages 2, 5, and 8. I was a young widow and a suddenly single mama, trying to grieve and make space for my daughters to grieve. One of the most natural ways to help them process their grief was through reading and discussing books. At the time, I found it difficult to find books that [...] Keep Reading
Books to help adults of all ages navigate grief
Most people don’t want to read books about grief until they find themselves on a grief journey. At least that was true for me. After my husband died nine years ago, I found myself reaching for books that would give me hope in the depths of grief. I wanted to read the words of people who had been down their own windy path of loss — and survived. In [...] Keep Reading
Kailani’s Gift: Revealing a new children’s book cover!
I’ve dreamed of publishing children’s books since I was in the first grade when my teacher Mrs. Kosinki wrote words of encouragement in red pen on my first creative story. She wrote phrases like “So creative!” and “How romantic!” in the margins of my unicorn romance adventure. That encouragement planted a seed of hope in my heart that I could [...] Keep Reading
It’s another book baby!
I’m thrilled to introduce you to my newest book, Create in Me a Heart of Mercy, which is now available! Cue the confetti! This Bible study completes the set of Create in Me a Heart of… studies by (in)courage. It features the real-life, going-first kind of stories you love from (in)courage writers, and an in-depth yet accessible Scripture study I [...] Keep Reading
Life’s storms reveal our roots
On Thursday, I went for a run with my friend Marcy on the Clovis Trail in my neighborhood. I have been spending lots of hours in front of the computer trying to finish writing my new Bible study on Ruth. The manuscript is due to my publisher at the end of this month. (I welcome all your prayers for getting to the finish line!) Getting outside [...] Keep Reading
