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Grace + Growth, Davenport, IA (2025)

11/29/2025

Looking out my front door this morning to behold a world wrapped in white. Snow fell through the night and changed my plans for the day, yet somehow I cannot be upset when everything looks this soft and sacred. There is something about a quiet snowfall that feels like God whispering, “Slow down, child, I am here.”

Did you know that snow does far more than look pretty as it falls? Scientists will tell you that snow acts like an insulating blanket for the soil. It protects fragile roots from harsh temperature changes, stores water that slowly sinks into the earth in spring, and even releases nitrogen that nourishes new growth when the thaw comes. In other words, what looks like stillness on the surface is actually preparation for life. Winter is sometimes viewed as being dead but it’s actually God’s way of tucking the earth in and getting it ready to bloom again.

Every time I look out my windows and see the world covered in that hush of white, I cannot help but think about the covering God placed over my life too. He sent His only Son to shed His blood so that when God looks at His children, He does not see the mess we have made or the sins we have committed. He sees a forgiven daughter or son, washed clean, covered in grace, ready to grow again when the season changes.

What a gift that is, and oh, what a Savior.

11/28/2025

A Heartfelt Closing to Heart Work, Holy Work

Thank you friends, for taking these last ten days to sit with me and lean into the tender places of the heart. I’ve been so moved by your messages, your shares, your tears, and your courage. If you’ve been part of this series in any way, please know how deeply grateful I am.

***To the guys out there, I promise I wasn’t trying to exclude you. I simply write through the lens I live in as a woman, but pain and healing, identity and hope belong to all of us. Any or all of these posts may apply to you as well.

On this day after Thanksgiving, I want to pause and give thanks to God for the way He has led and healed me through the years. There were so many moments I didn’t understand, so many seasons that felt confusing or painful or heavy. Looking back though, I can see the beauty He was weaving even when I couldn’t see the pattern. I see His fingerprints in places I thought were forgotten. I see His comfort in valleys I thought I walked alone. I see His grace covering chapters I once wished I could erase.

I’m not saying “I’ve arrived” not even close. I am standing in a place today though that makes me incredibly grateful for this season. I have a loving husband, amazing kids, work that fulfills my heart, and a support system only God could have orchestrated. He has been faithful, and I just want to say:

God is good all the time,
and all the time, God is good.

If this series touched your heart in any way, I give Him all the glory. If a line or a Scripture reminded you of who you are, that was Him too. If you found even a sliver of peace, may it continue to grow in the days ahead.

Before I close, I wanted to share something dear to my heart. If this series has spoken to you, please stay tuned. I am currently creating a collection of original works such as paintings, posters, greeting cards, notecards, and more all inspired by these posts. Each piece will combine my artwork with words from this series, and the full collection will be released toward the end of January. I cannot wait to share it with you!

May God be close to today and bless your homes, your hearts, and your healing. 🩷

11/28/2025

When God feels distant
Day 10 of heart work, holy work

Sometimes hurt doesn’t just bruise your heart, it muffles your spirit. When someone wounds you with their words, their silence, or their rejection, it can feel like their voice echoes God’s. Maybe you’ve had seasons where you prayed and it felt like your prayers hit the ceiling, or you opened your Bible but the words blurred instead of speaking to you. Maybe someone else’s actions left you wondering if God had stepped away too. Have you ever found yourself sitting there wondering where in the world He was?

If that’s you, come sit with me for a minute and listen. Feeling distant from God does not mean He has left you. It means your heart has been overwhelmed. It means you’ve been carrying pain that was never yours to hold alone.
It means your soul is tired from trying to make sense of a hurt you didn’t deserve, but here’s the truth I want to whisper gently over you:

God’s nearness is not dependent on your feelings. His presence is not fragile, and His love has not moved an inch away from you.

In Psalm 34:18 we read, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

He does not move away when your heart aches.
He moves closer to your questions, to your sorrow, and closer to the part of you that wonders if you’re still held.

When someone else’s voice has drowned out God’s, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed.

Sometimes His voice feels like peace when you expected an explanation, or it feels like a softening in your chest when you didn’t know you were tense. It might be the verse or a song that finds you at the exact moment you need it, or the strength you didn’t know you still had.

If someone’s hurt has made it hard to hear God, please know this:

Their brokenness does not define His heart.
Their silence does not equal His absence.
Their rejection does not cancel His love.

You are still His child whom He adores.

Even in the moments when God feels far away, He is already reaching toward you with tenderness you may not feel yet, but it’s there all the same.

Friend, I’m sitting with you in this, and God is too.

11/26/2025

When you don’t trust your own voice
Day 9 of heart work, holy work

Sometimes there are seasons when your voice feels small, shaky, or uncertain. Maybe you grew up with someone who corrected every word you said, questioned every decision, or made you feel like your thoughts didn’t matter. Maybe life has worn you down a bit, and now you second guess yourself before you even speak.

If that’s you, come sit with me for a minute and listen. Losing confidence in your own voice does not mean you are weak. It means you’ve survived environments where your voice wasn’t honored. It means you’ve been carrying words that were never meant to shape you, but here’s the truth I want to speak gently over you:

Your voice is not broken, it’s just been buried under years of someone else’s noise.

The God who created you has always known the sound of your voice, and He treasures it. He listens with tenderness when others don’t. He hears you even when you whisper, and He is calling you to rise with confidence again.

In John 10:27, He says, “My sheep hear My voice… and they follow Me.”

If you can recognize His voice, then your own voice is not lost. It’s simply waiting to be strengthened again. The same God who speaks peace over you is the One who will restore your clarity, your confidence, and your courage.

You are not “too emotional” or “too sensitive” or “too much.” You are a woman learning to trust herself after years of being made to question everything. Please listen to me friend;

Your voice matters.
Your feelings matter.
Your discernment matters.
You were created with wisdom, intuition, and insight.

If someone in your life taught you to doubt yourself, that was their wound speaking…..not your worth.

You can trust the woman God is shaping you into. You can trust the Holy Spirit whispering inside you. You are not walking this alone. God is right there beside you and is strengthening your voice even now.

Friend, I’m sitting with you in this and God is too.

11/25/2025

Paint class this Saturday at Argrow’s Cafe! Join us for holiday fun! 🎄

11/25/2025

When you feel invisible in your own story.
Day 8 of heart work, holy work

Sometimes there are seasons in life when you give and serve and show up every day and still feel completely unseen. Maybe you’re the one who keeps the household running, the one who remembers every detail, the one who supports everyone else’s dreams while yours quietly wait on the back burner. Maybe you’re the strong one, the soft place to land, the steady presence….and still you feel overlooked.

Feeling invisible does not mean you are unimportant.
Feeling unseen does not mean you are unnoticed.
Feeling overlooked does not mean you don’t matter.

Sometimes the world gets noisy, people get distracted, and those who rely on you forget how much you carry. I know that sometimes, the tender places inside of you get tired of being brave, but here’s what I want you to hear deep in your spirit:

You are not invisible to God, not for one moment.

In Genesis 16:13 we read, “You have seen me.”

If you know this story then you know it was spoken by a woman who felt cast aside, forgotten, and alone….yet she found herself face-to-face with the God who sees every single thing.

He sees the late-night prayers you whisper when everyone else is asleep.
He sees the tears you wipe away before you walk into the next room.
He sees the strength it takes to keep loving, keep serving, keep showing up.
He sees the dreams you’ve pressed down so others can rise.
He sees the exhaustion beneath your smile.

If people in your life have ever failed to notice your heart, that speaks about their limitation, not your worth. Your identity is not wrapped in how much recognition you receive, but in the God who watches over you with tenderness.

Even if you feel lonely, you are not walking this alone. You are held by a God who sees you fully and loves you deeply. I’m sitting with you in this friend, and God is too.

11/24/2025

When you grew up feeling ignored
Day 7 of heart work, holy work

Some wounds don’t come from shouting, they come from silence. Maybe you were the little girl who learned not to ask questions because you were told not to “bother” anyone. The one who packed her emotions neatly away because there was no room for them. The one who figured things out alone because there was no soft place to land, no gentle voice to guide, no arms to run to when the world felt too hard.

If that’s you, come sit with me for a minute, being ignored does something to a child. It teaches her to disappear, to stay quiet, and to become her own protector long before she should have needed to be.

Did you know, that little girl is still inside you, and she still needs a voice, a protector, a comforter, and a place to rest?

She doesn’t need to toughen up, she’s done enough of that. She doesn’t need to figure it all out alone, she’s exhausted from trying. She doesn’t need to stay quiet anymore, her voice matters. She needs someone to sit beside her, someone to speak gently, someone to say, “I see you.”

In Scripture, God reveals Himself as El Roí, the God who sees. The one who doesn’t overlook you, doesn’t tune you out, and doesn’t dismiss your questions or your cries.

Psalm 61:2 says, “When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”

That rock has never moved.
That safety has never vanished.
That presence has never turned away from you.

You were ignored by people who couldn’t give what you needed, but you have never been ignored by the God who created you.

He saw the little girl trying to figure everything out alone. He sees the woman she became, still carrying more than she should, and He is inviting you, tenderly, to lay down this lifelong habit of holding the world on your own two shoulders.

El Roí sees you.
He knows you.
He holds you.
He calls you His own.

You can come to Him and lay down all your burdens at His feet and know that the little girl inside you is finally safe. That the woman you are becoming by the grace of God, is finally seen, and neither of you ever walk alone.

Friend, I’m sitting with you in this, and God is too.

11/24/2025

When you want to reclaim your worth
Day 6 of heart work, holy work

There comes a moment in every healing journey when you finally pause long enough to realize…I don’t have to carry the old names anymore. I don’t have to live under the shadows of someone else’s words, and I don’t have to shrink, apologize, or second guess who God made me to be.

You’ve spent years believing you weren’t enough, or someone spoke things over you that sank deeper than you realized. Life has worn down your confidence one moment at a time.

If that’s you, come sit with me for a minute. Take a breath friend, and let your heart lean in.

Reclaiming your worth is not arrogance. It is obedience. It is agreeing with what God says about you, instead of the lies that life has handed you.

God Himself declares your worth in Isaiah 43:4 when He said, “You are precious in my eyes, honored, and I love you.”

Precious.
Honored.
Loved.

That’s what God said, and He didn’t stutter, He didn’t say someday, “if you get it all together”, or “when you finally feel worthy” but right now, just as you are.

You are not defined by what someone else couldn’t see in you. You are not limited by someone’s inability to love you well. You are not shaped by their wounds or their cutting words.

You are shaped by a God who calls you His. By a Savior who thought you were worth dying for and by a Spirit who lives inside you, whispering truth where the lies used to live.

Your worth is not up for debate, period. Not by others, by circumstances, and not even by your own insecurities.

You are worthy of love.
You are worthy of gentleness.
You are worthy of belonging.
You are worthy of rest.
You are worthy of the life God dreamed for you.

Not because you’ve earned it, but because He declared it. So today, stand a little taller in who He created you to be.

You are His beloved daughter and that will always, always be enough to be loved.

Friend, I’m sitting with you in this, and God is too.

11/24/2025

When you feel alone in your marriage
Day 5 of heart work, holy work

Some arguments don’t leave bruises on your skin, they leave them on your heart. Are you the woman who lies awake at night listening for the sound of the door slamming at 3 a.m., wondering if he’ll come in angry or just give you the silent treatment? Are you the one whispering prayers into your pillow while he pours another drink? Maybe you’re the one who has to guard every syllable because one wrong word sparks a storm you don’t have the strength to face.

Living on eggshells is not the same as living in peace and surviving the day is not the same as being loved.

You have been fighting for your marriage with everything inside you. You’ve been praying when he won’t. You’ve been holding the line when he lets go. You’ve been trying to hold your home together while your heart is unraveling. 💔 You’ve been carrying all the responsibility with none of the support.

You don’t know how much longer you can live like this…and friend, I hear you. God hears you too. Let me speak this gently over your weary soul:

This is not God’s plan for His daughters.

You are not meant to live small, scared, and silenced. You are not meant to carry the emotional weight of two people. You are not meant to be the only one fighting for a marriage you both vowed to protect.

You are God’s beloved daughter precious friend, so remember whose you are. Remember the God who sees you, the tears He has counted, the nights He has sat next to your bed when you felt completely alone.

Psalm 34:18 says,
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

He is close to you, right now, in that house that feels cold. In that marriage that feels one-sided. In that season where you have been holding everything together with trembling hands. He is not indifferent to the pain you hide so well.

And friend, even if you feel like you’re hanging on by just a thread…..please remember, God is holding the other end. You are a daughter of the Most High God, and He will not abandon you in this valley. Call out to Him and He will answer, He promised in His Word.

So straighten your crown and lift your chin, God stands with you even when your husband does not. And friend….I’m sitting with you in this too.

07/29/2025

❤

07/28/2025

💗🌷

07/26/2025

Find the glimmers in your life and seek them out!

Grace + Growth

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