Resurrecting the Blog

Hello all,

It has been several years since I have written anything publicly. I have had a lot of internal growth since my last post in 2019. I have survived multiple moves across the U.S. for my husband’s medical career. I have given in to my wanderlust and traveled to several countries and U.S. National Parks. I fled from my faith in God for a while and have come back with new vigor and renewed gratefulness for His everlasting compassion. I battled severe depression and learned a lot about myself, the plight of mental illness, the horrible lasting effects of trauma. I have been surrounded by love and care from family and close friends and my therapist, several of whom had to directly suffer with me and battle alongside me (and for me) during my darkest days. To them I will be forever grateful. They were and are angels of mercy provided to me by the Lord. And to those who only know the barest details, I am grateful to you for being in my life and for allowing me the time I need to process and share my story at my own pace.

Here are some things that have stayed constant in the last few years:

I am still happily married to the love of my life and childhood sweetheart, Caleb.
I am an animal lover and have two cats whom I adore, Zorro and Turk Turkleton.
I am constantly pursuing improvement in my physical health and nutrition choices. My current obsession is hot yoga.
I am an avid traveler. I have been to many countries, many U.S. National Parks, and my favorite thing to do is take photos of my travels.
I still love music, although it has not been as much of a focus in my life of late.
God is still changing me and shaping me.

Now that I have resurrected my blog, I intend to continue talking about all of the above topics, as they are very important to me! But I will add in some topics that may take special precedence:

A special focus on mental health, its effects, the healing process.
How depression affected my spiritual life, how God uses tools like medication and therapy to help me.
I am learning so much about Scripture and the character of God. It is truly exciting to me, and I hope to share with you things to encourage your walk with God.

To God alone be the glory. I have no other option but to worship God for His everlasting faithfulness and compassion. Without Him, I would be lost in nihilism and darkness and death. So I praise Him for rescuing me, for saving me, for giving me the precious gift of salvation and a new life.

Lamentations 3:19-26 (NIV)

¹⁹I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.