Don't Let Yesterday's Empty Nets Determine Tomorrow's Decisions

(from Rick Renner on Facebook)

Don't Let Yesterday's Empty Nets Determine Tomorrow's Decisions

This is the quote that Rick Renner put with this picture on Facebook:

“In Luke 5, after Jesus finished teaching, He looked at Simon and gave what must have seemed like a very unusual instruction: ‘Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught’ (Luke 5:4).

Peter was a professional fisherman. He knew these waters. He had spent the entire night fishing and had caught absolutely nothing. The nets had already been washed. The work was finished. Everything had been cleaned and put away.

Yet Jesus asked Peter to undo all of it.

I can almost hear Peter explaining why it wouldn't work. ‘Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing’ (Luke 5:5).

But then Peter said something that changed his life forever: ‘Nevertheless at Thy word...’ (Luke 5:5).

Peter chose to trust the Word of Jesus more than his own experience.

How often are we tempted to do just the opposite? We allow yesterday's disappointments to determine today's decisions.

My friend, never let a season of empty nets keep you from obeying the voice of Jesus. One word from Him can accomplish what an entire night of human effort never could.”

— Rick Renner

I love following Rick Renner's ministry. He's an amazing author, and I love how on point his teachings from the Bible are. Some might disagree with me on that, and that's okay. I've been studying God's Word since I was in my twenties, and the more I study and learn, the more I appreciate what Rick shares when he teaches from Scripture.

But it's the way he ended this particular thought that really grabbed me.

“Never let a season of empty nets keep you from obeying the voice of Jesus.”

Wow.

Just how often are we tempted to do the opposite?

How often do we allow yesterday's disappointments to determine today's decisions?

How many times do we think, “Well, that didn't work before, so why would I try again?”

We've all been there.

Peter certainly had reason to be discouraged. He wasn't some inexperienced fisherman who didn't know what he was doing. He was a professional. He had worked all night. He had done what he knew to do, and at the end of it all, his nets were empty.

And then Jesus told him to go back out.

I wonder how many times Peter's experience was telling him one thing while Jesus was telling him another.

His experience said, “We've already tried this.”

Jesus said, “Go back out.”

His experience said, “There's nothing out there.”

Jesus said, “Let down your nets.”

His experience said, “We've worked all night and caught nothing.”

Peter's response was, “Nevertheless at Thy word...”

That's the part that gets me.

Nevertheless.

Nevertheless means even though.

Even though I don't understand.

Even though I've tried before.

Even though I've been disappointed.

Even though the circumstances don't look promising.

Even though my experience tells me otherwise.

Nevertheless... at His word.

That's faith.

And I'll be honest—this is something we've had to remind ourselves of more than once.

For us and for our son, we've definitely been tempted to allow yesterday's disappointments to determine today's decisions.

But God.

Those two words can change everything.

We've had moments where circumstances have made us question what comes next. We've had disappointments. We've had things not go the way we hoped they would. We've watched doors close that we thought were going to stay open.

And sometimes the easiest thing to do is to let those experiences become the lens through which we look at the future.

“We tried that.”

“That didn't work.”

“We've been down that road before.”

“Maybe we shouldn't expect anything different this time.”

But God keeps reminding us that our past experiences are not His limitations.

What happened yesterday does not mean I know what God is going to do tomorrow.

And an empty net doesn't mean Jesus is finished.

Sometimes God asks us to go back out into the deep when everything inside of us is saying, “Why?”

Sometimes He asks us to try again.

Sometimes He asks us to wait.

Sometimes He changes the direction completely.

And sometimes He simply asks us to trust Him when we can't see what He's doing.

That's where we are learning to say:

“Nevertheless, at Your word.”

We know God has got Tim, Scot and me. Ultimately, He is in control.

Not us.

Not our circumstances.

Not our disappointments.

Not our plans.

Not even the things we think we understand.

God.

And if He tells us to launch out into the deep, then that's where we're going.

Even if we've been there before.

Even if we've come back with empty nets before.

Even if we're tired.

Even if we're afraid of being disappointed again.

Because the truth is, we don't need to understand the instruction to obey the One who gave it.

Peter didn't know what was waiting beneath the surface when Jesus told him to let down his nets.

He simply had to trust the One who knew.

And that's something I'm learning more and more as I get older:

Faith isn't trusting God only when the outcome makes sense to me. Faith is trusting Him when it doesn't.

I don't know what tomorrow holds for our family.

I don't know what God is going to do with every situation we're facing.

But I do know this:

He is faithful.

So I'm not going to let yesterday's empty nets convince me that there won't be a catch tomorrow.

I'm not going to let disappointment make my decisions for me.

I'm not going to let fear of what happened before keep me from what God may be asking me to do now.

Instead, I'm going to keep listening.

Keep trusting.

Keep believing.

Keep going into the deep when He says to go.

And when I don't understand?

Nevertheless, at His word.

Because one word from God can change everything❤️.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. — Isaiah 55:8

Never Ever Underestimate

Every single day, God is protecting us from things we don't even know about. His angels are keeping watch over His children.

That doesn't mean bad things don't happen, because they do.

We live in a fallen world—a world where we have choices. God gave us the ability to choose. We can choose Him, or we can choose the things that satisfy our own whims.

I've made many really bad choices in my lifetime. I'm fixing to be 57 years old in November, and no, I don't mind telling my age.

I've lived enough of life to look back and see just how many times I've missed God. I've also seen how many times He protected me, because my life should have been snuffed out long ago with all the bad choices I've made.

I always say this, though: "But God!"

I say that because if it weren't for God, I wouldn't even be sitting here writing this blog to you today. With all I've done in my life, there's no reason why I should still be here, but I am.

That tells me that God isn't finished with me yet. And if you're here reading my blog, then God isn't finished with you either.

I've underestimated God a lot in my life. It's not something I'm proud of; it's just a fact.

God has been there for me in ways I can't explain throughout my entire life. He's watched over me and given me guidance, even when I made choices that weren't in line with Him or His Word.

As followers of Christ, we're all just going through life doing our best to live for Him. But that doesn't mean everything is always going to go according to plan. We have free will, and our decisions have consequences.

Something I've learned, though, is that no matter how often I've made bad decisions, sooner or later, it all comes back to God.

God never lets go of our lives when we are His children. We may stray like a sheep that has wandered away from its flock, but God lovingly brings us back to Himself. His gentle hand guides us, even when we don't realize it.

I've gotten to a place in my life where I know the quote in the picture above is true because I've lived enough life to experience God's protection firsthand.

I don't ever underestimate how much God is protecting me from things I don't even know about.

When there's a delay in my day, I sometimes wonder if God is keeping me from something that could hurt me.

When things don't go as planned, I remind myself that God is still in control.

When everything seems to be falling apart and there's no way out, I know God is there.

He will never leave me or forsake me, because I am His child.

I'm ever so thankful that He's always there, protecting me in ways I don't even know about. And I'm thankful that He's doing the same for my loved ones and friends too because He is no respecter of persons.

I was just telling a friend recently that I don't know where my life would be today if it weren't for God.

Everything in my life, from the time I was five years old, when a wonderful older woman in our neighborhood asked my parents if she could take me to church on Sundays, to now, has been a part of God's plan for my life.

He knew me before I ever was. He knew what my upbringing would be. He knew how I would respond to all that happened in my young life before I came to Him. He knew the exact moment when I would choose Him and ask Him to be my Lord and Savior.

He knew when I would surrender my life to Him, but He also knew that I would continue to make mistakes—and that He would continue to forgive me.

That doesn't give me license to live like a hellion, though. It's quite the opposite.

If I fall, He's there. If I fail, He's there. He's always there, leading, guiding, and directing my life along the path He wants me to take.

The path I'm on now is a blessed one.

I feel so blessed because I have a husband who loves God, whom I adore. I have a son whom I adore, too. God has blessed me with an amazing family life after all the troubled years I went through growing up.

There's such a deep sense of acceptance and love in my life that I can't fully describe, but I feel it in the depths of my soul.

God protected my life so that I could experience these blessed days. He knew what I didn't. 

And He knows what you don't know yet.

So, never ever underestimate how much God is protecting you from things you don't even know about!

I know I never do.

This Is Just Another Chapter

This Is Just Another Chapter

It’s with a sad heart that we let you know that Tim will not be competing at States this year. This will be the first time he has had to miss a competition since he started his journey in Olympic weightlifting. He will still be there at States supporting his teammates and helping his coach wherever he is needed. Even though he won’t be on the platform this time, he’ll still be part of his team—and I know he’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.

Now, let me give you the backstory on his injury.

A couple of months before Nationals, Tim started having some pain in his elbow. It wasn’t anything unbearable, and his body guy was able to get it under control pretty quickly—or so we thought.

You just never know what may be lurking underneath.

His body guy could only treat the symptoms Tim was experiencing. He did dry needling and shockwave therapy on the area, and for a while, it seemed to be doing the trick.

When Tim went to Nationals in June, his elbow was feeling good. He went on to make PR lifts and win his first USA Weightlifting National Junior Championship. It was an incredible Championships week, and we were so proud of him.

Then we came home, and he went back into training.

His elbow progressively started getting worse.

After doing everything he could, his body guy advised us to have Tim seen by an orthopedic doctor. We put in for an appointment, which took some time to get, and now we are going through all the hoops trying to figure out exactly what is causing this issue.

Here’s what we know so far.

His X-rays show nothing broken and no loose particles. An MRI without contrast showed fluid on his elbow. The medications they gave him haven't helped resolve the fluid issue. Blood work also showed that he does not have an autoimmune issue causing the problem.

The next step is to aspirate the fluid from his elbow and have it tested—which happens later this morning. After that, we may need to do an MRI with contrast to get a better look at the tendons surrounding the elbow.

So, what initially seemed like a minor issue could very well be just that—a minor issue.

But it could also be that his elbow is so pointy that it's irritating his tendon or there could be a small tear in one of his tendons that is being irritated by the movement of his elbow. In the case or the first scenario, that could possibly mean surgery to round the bony part that is irritating the tendon. In the case of the second scenario, we are fairly sure that it would simply require some rest time for it to heal. With either case that would mean Tim is done competing for the remainder of this year. 

And that's hard.

Not just because he loves competing, but because weightlifting has become such a huge part of his life and he absolutely loves it. He has worked incredibly hard to get where he is, and he has some pretty big dreams for where he wants this journey to take him.

So we’re asking our family and friends to pray in agreement with us🙏.

Pray for quick healing of Tim’s elbow. Pray that the underlying cause is revealed to his orthopedic doctors so they know exactly how to treat it. Pray for wisdom for everyone involved in his care.

And pray that he comes back stronger than he was before.

It is also our prayer that, Tim heals in time to train and prepare for The Arnold in March 2027. This will be the 50th Anniversary of the event, and being able to compete there would be an incredible opportunity.

Tim's passion is weightlifting. His dream is to compete at Worlds and, someday, carry the title of Olympian.

We don't know what this detour is going to look like yet.

But we do know Who holds the road ahead.

God has brought Tim through so much in his young life. We have watched God's hand on him in ways that are impossible for us to deny. And while we don't understand why he is dealing with this injury right now, we trust that God does.

I truly believe God has a plan for Tim’s life—and that plan is bigger than a medal, a competition, a championship, or even weightlifting itself.

This injury doesn't erase everything Tim has accomplished. It doesn't take away the work he has put in. It doesn't change who he is.

It's simply an unexpected part of his journey.

And maybe, just maybe, this is another opportunity for Tim to learn that strength isn't always found on a platform.

Sometimes strength looks like sitting on the sidelines when you'd rather be lifting.

Sometimes it looks like patience when you want answers.

Sometimes it looks like trusting God when you don't understand what He's doing.

And sometimes the biggest victories have nothing to do with medals.

Scot and I know that Tim will continue to honor God and his family through this journey because he knows just how much God's hand has been on his life. He's seen God carry him through things before, and we believe God will carry him through this, too.

So for now, we're taking it one day at a time, trusting God, praying for healing, and believing that Tim's story isn't over.

This is just another chapter.

And whatever comes next, we'll be right there beside him.

More Than the Medals

This quote hits home with me because it describes exactly how we've tried to raise Tim.

We've never wanted to raise a child whose entire identity was wrapped up in winning. We wanted to raise a young man who could face life—both the good and the hard—and know that he could handle whatever came his way.

Unfortunately, that's not always the message Tim received from coaches along the way.

Some of the coaches he's had put so much emphasis on winning that the message became, If you don't win, you didn't accomplish anything worth accomplishing. And honestly, that mentality turned both Tim and us off big time.

Winning is great. Who doesn't love to win? 

But winning isn't the only measure of success.

The coach Tim has now understands that. He doesn't focus solely on the wins. He focuses on the gains—the progress, the improvements, the little victories that happen along the way. He's more interested in helping Tim become better than he was yesterday than simply making sure he beats everyone else.

That's the kind of coach every athlete should have.

I wish Tim could have had a coach like this all along because I think there's something incredibly valuable about learning early that your worth isn't determined by a scoreboard, a podium or a medal.

The goal was never to raise an athlete who wins all the time.

The goal was to raise someone who knows they can handle anything life throws at them.

That's the ultimate goal.

Because one day the competitions will end. The training will slow down. The medals will eventually stop coming.

And yes, those medals will hang on a wall and tell a story. They'll remind us of the hard work, the sacrifices, the early mornings, the disappointments, the victories and all the moments in between.

But at the end of the day they're still just medals.

They are not who you are.

When there are no more competitions and no more medals to win, you have to be able to look at the person you've become and love who you are.

What kind of person are you when nobody is keeping score?

What kind of heart do you have?

How do you treat people?

Do you encourage others to succeed, even when they're competing against you?

Do you get back up when you fail?

Can you handle disappointment without allowing it to define you?

Can you celebrate someone else's success?

Can you walk away from something knowing you gave it everything you had, even if the outcome wasn't what you wanted?

That's what matters.

I want Tim to leave behind more than a collection of medals for people to talk about.

I want people to talk about his character.

I want them to say he had an amazing heart for people. That he cared about others. That he encouraged people. That he wanted to see others succeed. That he worked hard, stayed humble and didn't let either success or failure determine his worth.

Our son is an athlete, and he's had some incredible successes in his sports journey. We're incredibly proud of what he's accomplished.

But there's so much more to him than what he can lift, how much he can lift, how many competitions he's won or how many medals hang on his wall.

You just have to take the time to get to know him.

And that's what we've always wanted for him—not simply to raise a winner, but to raise a young man who knows who he is, whose worth isn't determined by what he accomplishes, and who knows that no matter what life throws at him, he can handle it.

Because at the end of the day, the medals may tell part of his story.

But his character tells you who he really is.

My Rock, My Refuge, My Stronghold

I love this verse.

There is something so comforting about knowing that I don't have to be strong all by myself. I don't have to have everything figured out. I don't have to know what tomorrow holds. I have a God who is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my refuge, my shield and my stronghold.

That's a lot of protection packed into one little verse.

And honestly, I've needed every bit of it.

Life doesn't always go the way we think it will. There have been times when I've felt overwhelmed, worried, disappointed, hurt or simply tired. There have been things I've faced that I couldn't fix, situations I couldn't control and circumstances I couldn't change.

But I've learned that just because I can't handle something doesn't mean God can't.

He is my rock when I feel unsteady.

He is my fortress when I feel vulnerable.

He is my refuge when I need somewhere safe to run.

He is my shield when I need protection.

He is my deliverer when I need Him to make a way where I can't see one.

And He is my stronghold when I need something—or Someone—to hold me up.

I think sometimes we make our faith harder than it needs to be. We try to carry things God never asked us to carry. We worry about things we can't control. We try to figure out every detail of tomorrow when God is asking us to trust Him with today.

I've done that more times than I'd like to admit.

But God keeps reminding me that He is my safe place.

I can run to Him in prayer. I can pour my heart out to Him. I can cry when I need to cry. I can tell Him what I'm afraid of, what I'm struggling with and what I don't understand.

And I don't have to clean myself up first.

I can come just as I am.

That's what I love about having a relationship with God. He isn't only there when everything is going well. He is there in the middle of the mess, in the uncertainty, in the waiting and in the moments when I don't have the answers.

He has been faithful to me over and over again.

When I look back at my life, I can see His hand in places where I didn't recognize it at the time. I can see moments when He protected me, provided for me, redirected me and carried me when I didn't have the strength to carry myself.

Sometimes I didn't understand what God was doing.

I just had to trust Him.

And that's still true today.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't know what challenges are around the corner. But I know Who will be there when I get there.

That's enough for me.

My circumstances may change. People may change. Life may change. But God does not change.

He is still my Rock.

He is still my Refuge.

He is still my Fortress.

He is still my Shield.

He is still my Deliverer.

And He is still my Stronghold.

So today, I'm choosing to remind myself of what I already know:

I am not alone.
I am not without help.
I am not without hope.
And I am not without a place to run.

When life gets shaky, I can stand on the Rock.

When life gets hard, I can run to my Refuge.

When I feel afraid, I can hide in my Fortress.

When I don't know what to do, I can trust my Deliverer.

Because my security isn't found in having a perfect life or knowing exactly what the future holds.

My security is found in Him.

And He has always been—and will always be—my Rock.

Happy Grandparents Day

Today we celebrate our grandparents—those who are still with us and those who have passed on.

I've been thinking about my grandparents today. I only knew two of them—my dad's father and my mom's mother.

My grandfather was a hard man, much like my dad. My grandmother was like a box of chocolates—you never knew what you were gonna get😂.

My dad's mom I never got the chance to know because she passed away before I was born. But Dad named me and one of my sisters after her. He gave me Lorraine as my middle name and my sister Margaret as her first name. Our grandmother's name was Margaret Lorraine.

She was also full-blood Cherokee, and I've always been proud of my Cherokee heritage. Dad always talked about his mom with so much love and hurt in his eyes because he lost her when he was just a child. I think that loss stayed with him throughout his life.

My mom's dad was someone I never knew either. She didn't know who her father was until she was an adult, and by the time she found out, he was already having health problems. He passed away not long after.

Even with the grandparents I didn't get to know, I'm thankful for the grandparents I did have the opportunity to know and remember.

Today, I also think about Tim's grandparents—my parents and his dad's parents.

Tim was incredibly close to his grandparents on his dad's side. He got to spend so much time with them growing up, and they absolutely doted on him. When Tim came along, it had been a long time since there had been a little one around. Most of their grandchildren were already grown, so having another little one in the family brought so much joy to the Neal family.

They loved watching Tim grow up. They enjoyed him, spoiled him, encouraged him, and made so many memories with him.

Sadly, Tim had to lose both of his grandparents on his dad's side just a year apart—in 2024 and 2025. Both lived long lives and were in their late 80s when they passed. We are so thankful for the years we had with them and for the memories they left behind.

Tim has one grandparent left—my mom. My dad passed away 24 years ago, so Tim never had the opportunity to know him. My mom is still here, though, and we cherish the time we have with her as we watch her age and face more challenges in this season of her life.

So today, we celebrate them all.

The grandparents who are here.

The grandparents who are gone.

The grandparents we knew well and the ones we only knew through the stories that were passed down to us.

They have meant—and still mean—so much to our families. They helped shape who we are, they gave us memories to hold onto, and they left pieces of themselves behind in the generations that came after them.

That's why we take the time to remember them and celebrate them today.

Because they are worth remembering.

And they are worth celebrating.

Happy Grandparents Day❤️

His Timing, Not Mine

I know this verse well. I’ve heard many sermons preached on it over the years.

This verse sounds easy enough, but there’s nothing easy about humbling yourself. Most of us don’t do it very well—and if we’re honest, sometimes we don’t want to do it at all.

Humility goes against our human nature.

We want to be right. We want to be recognized. We want to be appreciated. We want people to see our efforts and acknowledge what we’ve done. We want things to happen when we think they should happen and in the way we think they should happen.

But God asks us to humble ourselves under His mighty hand.

That means recognizing that He is God and I am not.

It means trusting that He sees what I cannot see. He knows what I do not know. He understands the beginning, the middle and the end when all I can see is what is right in front of me.

And that's where humility becomes difficult.

Sometimes humbling ourselves means admitting that we don't have all the answers. Sometimes it means letting go of our need to control the outcome. Sometimes it means being quiet when we really want to defend ourselves. Sometimes it means waiting when we'd rather be moving.

And sometimes it means trusting God when we don't understand what He's doing.

I've learned over the years that there is a blessing that comes with humbling yourself before God. Not because humility earns us anything, but because it puts our hearts in the right position to receive what God wants to do.

“That He may lift you up in due time.”

I love those last words: in due time.

Not my time.

Not when I think I'm ready.

Not when I think I deserve it.

Not when everyone else thinks it should happen.

God's time.

I've learned that God's timing is often different from mine. There have been things I've prayed for, waited for and wondered about. There have been seasons when I've thought, Lord, when is this going to change? When are You going to move? When am I going to see the answer?

But God has taught me that waiting isn't wasted time.

Sometimes God is doing a work in us before He does a work through us.

Sometimes the lifting doesn't look like what we expected. Sometimes it's not a promotion, a breakthrough or the answer to the prayer we've been praying. Sometimes God lifts us by giving us strength to endure something we never thought we could endure. Sometimes He lifts us by changing our perspective. Sometimes He gives us peace in the middle of circumstances that haven't changed at all.

And sometimes, eventually, He does open the door we've been waiting for.

But whatever the lifting looks like, we can trust the One doing the lifting.

I've learned that I don't have to fight to make things happen when God has told me to wait. I don't have to prove myself to everyone. I don't have to make sure everyone understands me. I don't have to manipulate circumstances to get the outcome I want.

I can humble myself, put it in God's hands and trust Him.

Now, that's not always easy.

But it is freeing.

Because when I truly believe that God is sovereign, I don't have to carry the weight of trying to be my own provider, protector, defender and promoter. I can let God be God.

And when He chooses to lift me up, I know it won't be because I forced my way there.

It will be because His mighty hand brought me there.

Maybe you're in a season of waiting right now. Maybe you've been praying about something for a long time and wondering why God hasn't moved yet.

Don't mistake God's silence for God's absence.

Don't mistake waiting for being forgotten.

And don't think that because you haven't seen the lifting yet, God isn't working.

Keep humbling yourself. Keep trusting Him. Keep doing what He's called you to do. Keep your heart surrendered to Him.

I know that's what I'm gonna do.

Because there is a due time.

And when God's time comes, He knows exactly how to lift you up.

Not because you pushed your way to the top.

Not because you made it happen.

But because you trusted the One who was holding you all along.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”

I'm learning to be okay with God's due time instead of constantly asking Him to hurry up and meet mine.

And honestly, I think that's part of what humility really looks like.

Your Past Doesn’t Have to Pave Your Future

Growing up, I heard Dolly say this many times. And when you look at her life, you realize she wasn't just saying something that sounded good—she lived it.

Dolly came from very humble beginnings. She grew up in a large family in the mountains of Tennessee, with very little materially. The road she was born onto wasn't necessarily an easy one, and it certainly wasn't a road that guaranteed her the future she would eventually have.

But she didn't allow the road she started on to dictate where she would end up.

She dreamed. She worked. She persevered. She made choices that moved her forward. She walked a different path, paved her own way, and created a future that looked very different from the circumstances she came from.

I think there's a lesson in that for all of us.

Sometimes we find ourselves walking a road we didn't choose. Maybe it's because of decisions we made in the past. Maybe it's because of decisions someone else made that affected us. Maybe life simply handed us circumstances we never expected.

And sometimes we stay on that road because it's familiar.

We complain about where it leads, but we're afraid to change direction.

We know we're unhappy, but we don't know what the next road looks like. We know something needs to change, but we're comfortable enough with the familiar that taking the first step toward something different feels scary.

But here's the thing: you don't have to stay on a road simply because you've been walking it for a long time.

Sometimes you have to stop, look at where you're headed, and decide that it's time to pave another road.

That doesn't mean you can change everything overnight. It doesn't mean every new road will be easy. And it certainly doesn't mean there won't be obstacles along the way.

But it does mean that your current circumstances don't have to determine your future.

You can make a different choice.

You can learn something new.

You can let go of what is holding you back.

You can change your priorities.

You can establish healthier boundaries.

You can pursue a dream you've put on the shelf.

You can start over.

You can take one small step in a different direction.

Sometimes paving a new road doesn't look like some huge, dramatic life change. Sometimes it looks like simply making a different decision today than you made yesterday.

One step becomes another step. One choice leads to another choice. And before long, you may look back and realize you've traveled much farther than you ever imagined.

I've learned that life doesn't always turn out the way we thought it would. There are seasons we wouldn't have chosen for ourselves and roads we never expected to travel.

But I've also learned that we don't have to let those seasons define the rest of our story.

We can pave another road.

And for those of us who follow Christ, we don't have to figure out that road by ourselves. We can ask God for wisdom, trust Him with our future, and allow Him to direct our steps.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Maybe the road you're on right now isn't where you want to stay.

Maybe it's time to stop looking at the road behind you and start looking at the road ahead.

Maybe it's time to pick up the tools, gather your courage, trust God, and start paving.

Because the road you're walking today doesn't have to be the road you walk forever.

If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one.

Your next chapter may be waiting on the other side of a decision to take a different path.

25 Years Later: We Remember 9/11

It’s hard to believe that it has been 25 years since September 11, 2001. Twenty-five years. And yet, I can remember that day as clearly as if it happened yesterday.

I had just finished driving my school bus routes that morning and was returning to my car. As I approached the gate, someone was standing there telling me to go home and turn on the news.

When I got home and turned on the television, what I saw was unbelievable. They were showing the replay of the plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers in New York City. And then, as we were watching, we saw it happen live—the second plane flying into the other tower.

The feeling that overcame me in that moment is difficult to put into words.

It was horror.

It was devastation.

It was confusion.

And it was fear.

What do we need to prepare for? What is coming next? Is this a full-scale attack on our country? Do we need to prepare for war?

So much was going through my mind and my heart in those moments.

And then came the realization of just how many lives had been changed forever.

Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives that day. Mothers and fathers. Sons and daughters. Husbands and wives. Brothers and sisters. Friends, coworkers, first responders, and people simply going about their everyday lives.

And while we remember those who died, we must also remember the countless loved ones who were left behind to carry on without them.

Twenty-five years later, their absence is still felt.

Children grew up without a parent. Spouses had to learn how to move forward without the person they had planned to grow old with. Parents buried their children. Families celebrated birthdays, holidays, graduations, weddings, and other milestones with an empty place at the table.

And then there are the heroes—the firefighters, police officers, paramedics, emergency workers, and ordinary people who ran toward danger while others were running away.

We remember their courage.

We remember their sacrifice.

We remember the families who waited for loved ones who never came home.

And we remember a nation that, for a brief time, seemed to put aside its differences and stand together.

Twenty-five years later, we must never allow ourselves to forget.

Not the lives lost.

Not the families left behind.

Not the courage displayed.

Not the sacrifices made.

And not the way that day changed our country and so many of us personally.

September 11, 2001, is a day we will never forget.

25 years later, we remember. We honor. We grieve. And we will never forget.

May God continue to comfort every family who lost someone that day and every person whose life was forever changed by the events of September 11, 2001.

Never Forget 🇺🇸

Everything I Need Is Found in Him

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

~ 2 Peter 1:3

I love this verse because it reminds me that God has not left us to figure out how to live this life on our own. He has given us everything we need for a godly life.

The Bible is our instruction manual. It teaches us who God is, who we are in Him, how we're called to live, and how our lives can point others toward Him. But even more than that, 2 Peter reminds us that everything we need flows from knowing Him.

And that means so much to me.

I spend a good portion of my time blogging and writing because it's something I genuinely love to do. I believe God has given me a talent for writing, and I want to use that talent for Him.

Will I ever write a #1 bestselling book? Who knows. Maybe I will. Maybe I won't.

But honestly, that's not what matters most to me.

What I want to be known for is pointing to God with my life.

When people look at me, I want them to be able to say, “She really loves God.”

I want His love to pour out of my heart and my life like a drink offering—something freely given for others to partake of. I want my words, my writing, my actions, and even the way I walk through difficult seasons to point people back to Him.

More than anything, I don't want people to spend eternity separated from God. I want people to know Him, love Him, draw near to Him, and hold tightly to His Word.

My life, especially since my twenties, has been incredibly blessed. Not because everything has always been easy—it certainly hasn't—but because I've had the privilege of spending these years pursuing a deeper relationship with the God who has loved me, guided me, carried me, and protected me through so many seasons of life.

There have been incredible highs and some very deep lows.

There have been seasons when I've felt strong and seasons when I've felt like I had nothing left to give.

But through all of it, God has been there.

He has been the light at the end of the tunnel.

He has been my refuge when I needed somewhere to run.

He has been my strength when I didn't have any of my own.

He has been my hope when circumstances gave me every reason to lose it.

He is my source of life.

I know with everything in me that I wouldn't be the woman I am today or be living the life I'm living today if it weren't for Him.

He is my everything.

And the longer I walk with Him, the deeper my love for Him becomes. Because the more I know Him, the more I understand just how completely He loves me.

His love isn't dependent upon my perfection. It isn't dependent upon whether I get everything right. His love doesn't disappear when I stumble or fall short.

His love is unconditional. His love has no end.

And I don't just want to know that as a theological truth.

I want to know it in the depths of my being.

I want my life to be a living testimony of what happens when you surrender your life to God and continue walking with Him through every season.

Because He really has given us everything we need for a godly life.

And ultimately, everything we need is found in Him.

At the end of the day, knowing that feels pretty incredible.