But we didn’t fully break down the verse that comes before that one. Romans 12:1 says:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true and proper worship.”

That verse has been with me now for several weeks.

Do you understand that your body is not your own? That it belongs to the Lord? That when we leave this life, our bodies are not coming with us?

He is asking us, right here in this text, to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice. Holy and pleasing to God. And then He tells us what that actually is: our true and proper worship.

What we do with our bodies matters. How we treat our bodies matters. How we speak to and about our bodies matters.

Your body is not your own.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 puts it plainly: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

So this felt like exactly the right week to sit with what it means to rise and renew our bodies.

I’ll be honest with you, I have not always stewarded my body well. I struggled with an eating disorder for a lot of my life. It overwhelmed me. It consumed me. It ruled my life. And the way I was treating my body was not how the Lord wanted me to treat it.

I have had many conversations with God about the damage I did to the temple He created for me to live in here on earth.

But what a gift, to be able to live in a body that can walk, breathe, and move. Growing up, worship through dance was one of the ways I felt closest to the Lord. He gave me that gift, and it was an honor to move and be creative in it. I still love every chance I get to move like that today.

There were many seasons, though, when I spoke negativity over my body. When I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. When I wasn’t nourishing myself well, and when I was trying everything to become the smallest version of myself.

Thank God for redemption. Thank God for people who spoke truth into my life. Thank God for recovery. Thank God for growth… in every single way.

But I want to ask you.. How is your relationship with your body?

Do you see yourself the way God sees you?
Do you want to change everything about yourself?
Do you struggle?
Do you treat your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit?

I pray that, as you read this today, you know you are so deeply loved by God. That you don’t need to do anything to prove your worth to anyone. You are more than your body, but your body matters. The way you treat it matters. Because it isn’t yours alone, and the Bible tells us that clearly.

We live in a world with constant noise and pressure to shrink. To become smaller. And the Lord does not want you to shrink. He wants you to live as He has called you to live- renewed, nourished, and whole. That is worship. That is living for God and not for the world or for yourself.

If you’re struggling today, please get help. Get in the Word, get in community, and reach out to someone you trust. You don’t have to carry this alone, and you were never meant to.

I’m always here to chat, to listen, and to pray for you. One day, I’ll share my full testimony here, but today, you get a glimpse. The Lord has changed my life in ways I am still in awe of.

Do I still have hard days? Of course, I’m human. But I know where to go and what to do when those thoughts rise up. And that knowledge is one of the greatest gifts recovery has given me.

When I think of my body as a temple, crafted and knitted together by my Father, it reorients everything. It renews my mind all over again.

Let’s continue to renew our bodies with how we care for them, move them, and nourish them. Not for the world. For Him.

Here for you always!

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

If anything in this post stirred something in you and you’re struggling with your relationship with food or your body, please reach out for support. You don’t have to do this alone.

Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline: 1-866-662-1235
allianceforeatingdisorders.com

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Romans 12 specifically has been heavy on my heart lately. And when that happens, I’ve learned to pay attention, because it usually means the Lord wants me to slow down and sit with it. Read it, pray through it, let it do its work.

So that’s exactly what I’m doing this week, and I’d love for you to join me. Pull up Romans 12 and just read it slowly this week. Let’s do it together.

Which brings me to where we’re headed next here on Daily Daughter.

We are wrapping up the last chapter of summer, and I can feel the shift of a new season coming. And before we step into fall, I want us to do one thing intentionally… renew.

We’re stepping into Rise & Renew, a few weeks of focusing on what it means to renew our minds, our bodies, and our souls before the new season begins. And it all starts here, in Romans 12

In Romans 12, Paul reminds us of something really important: our minds and bodies are not our own. And he gives us very clear direction on what to do when we find ourselves following the world rather than following Jesus.

Romans 12:1-2 says:
”I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^”

Now, Paul doesn’t say maybe don’t or you probably shouldn’t. He says, “Do not be conformed to this world.” That’s a command.

But he doesn’t stop there; he pivots immediately to the but. Be transformed. What were once old ways of thinking become new. The Greek word for “transformed” here shares the same root as “metamorphosis,” which is a complete change. Not a tweak. A total renewal into something new.

And renewal means exactly what it sounds like, to give new life, freshness. What once was stale, worn out, shaped by the world is made new again.

Here’s what’s important: it all starts in the mind.

If your mind isn’t right, everything else follows. The mind is a powerful thing. If you constantly feed it negativity, your life will start to reflect that. It becomes hard to find the good when your mind has been trained to look for the bad.

I used to have a podcast called Smile for 2 Minutes because it’s been shown that if you’re in a bad mood and you simply smile for two minutes, your brain starts to believe you’re happy. Once you move the muscles, your mood then follows. The mind leads everytime.

Now imagine what happens when you consistently feed your mind the Word of God. When you stop letting the world narrate your worth and let Him speak instead.

Paul closes the verse with this, “that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Not your will. Not what you think is best. But what the Lord knows is good for you. His good, His acceptable, His perfect.

A few questions to sit with this week:

1. Are you living a life that looks more like the world than like Jesus?

2. Are you more focused on worldly standards than on what God says is good?

3. Are you chasing what everyone else is doing, or running toward what God specifically created you for?

Renewing your mind starts with coming to God. It starts with opening His Word. It continues by running to Him daily and shutting out the noise of what the world says is good, enough, or perfect.

There is no one perfect except our Father, and He made you. He created you specifically and intentionally. Can you take that in for a second?

Knowing that truth, you can set your mind on things above.
You can trust that His plan is better than your own.
You can stop chasing trends and copying what the world is doing.
You can stop comparing yourself to everyone around you.

You were made for more. And your mind was made to be consistently renewed and transformed, especially when your flesh tries to take over.

Let’s rise and renew, one day at a time.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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For many of us, the Sabbath is something we read about in Scripture and then quietly move past. We see it, we acknowledge it, and then we go right back to our to-do lists.

But the Sabbath was never meant to be skimmed over. It’s one of the most important rhythms God ever established, and it starts at the very beginning.

After God created all things, the heavens, the earth, and every living creature, He rested.

“Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” - Genesis 2:3

He made this day holy. And holy means set apart, sacred, consecrated. We don’t get to decide what is holy; God alone does. And He decided the Sabbath was.

Then He commanded it.

In Exodus 20, the Sabbath appears as one of the Ten Commandments. And what’s fascinating is that all the other commandments begin with “you shall” or “you must.” Direct commands. But two of them are different: honor your father and mother, and this one:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” — Exodus 20:8-11

Remember.

Not “you shall.” Not “you must.” Remember. As in, you already know this. Don’t forget. Don’t let the busyness of life crowd this out.

And out of all ten commandments, the Sabbath is the longest. God used more words to describe this one than any other. That tells you something about how seriously He takes it.

We live in a culture that glorifies the hustle. Go, go, go. Do, do, do. Produce, perform, optimize. We barely stop to breathe, let alone rest, and in doing so, we walk right past the free, beautiful, God-made things already around us.

I think God is so intentional. When He laid out the earth and everything in it, He rested on the final day. Not because He was tired, but because He was modeling something for us. He was showing us that rest is not laziness. Rest is obedience. Rest is how we remember that He is in control and we are not.

We must steward our work well. Community matters. Showing up matters. But none of it is sustainable without a day to stop, rewire, and return to Him.

I’ve been in seasons where I genuinely didn’t know what a Sabbath looked like. Resting? Sitting still? No to-do list? It felt foreign. And honestly, I still go through phases where I fill even my rest days to the brim.

But the Lord wants us free from that bondage. There is something beautiful about waking up and having a day that is simply His. Opening the Word, moving slowly, and going about your hours knowing He is in control of all of it.

In the New Testament, Jesus modeled this for us beautifully. He withdrew regularly, not occasionally, but consistently, even in the middle of busy ministry seasons with crowds pressing in on every side.

In Mark 6:31, after the disciples returned from ministry exhausted, Jesus said: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” He invited them into Sabbath rest. He knew they needed it.

Now, we also see in the New Testament that the Pharisees had turned the Sabbath into a long list of prohibited activities, 39 categories of things you couldn’t do. So when Jesus healed people on the Sabbath, they accused Him of breaking the law. But Jesus wasn’t breaking the commandment; He was fulfilling its original intent. The Sabbath was always meant to point people toward God, toward restoration, toward wholeness. And what is healing if not exactly that?

The Sabbath is a heart posture. It’s not a rigid ruleset. It’s a returning to Him, to rest, to the people around you.

Daughter, your Sabbath might look completely different from mine. Maybe it’s Saturday, Sunday, or Friday. Maybe it looks like an unhurried morning with your Bible and coffee. Maybe it’s a long walk, a slow dinner with people you love, a day with your phone put down.

Whatever it looks like, it’s supposed to fill your cup. It’s supposed to restore you. And it’s a command you get to return to every single week.

I pray you seek Him in it, and that you find the obedience to it less like a burden and more like the gift it always was.

There is more life, more freedom, and so much more rest when you follow His ways.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Last week I was able to take some time off work, which was much needed. I didn’t go anywhere fancy. Just here in Charleston, with margin and slow mornings and nowhere to be.

And can I be honest? Parts of it were a really nice brain break. But I also felt like I wasted some days. And if I’m being really honest… I feel this way from time to time, and it’s something I’m still learning.

Because here’s what happened: when I wrote my last post and mentioned these days coming, I was so excited. Days off work, sleeping in (hello 7 am), working out whenever I wanted, a massage, lying by the pool, reading the Word, journaling, praying, walking, all the things.

And I did a lot of the above. But I also really leaned into the “me” time. I watched shows for way too long. Scrolled when I didn’t need to. And while I did spend time journaling, there was a part of me by the end of the week that felt like I missed it. Like I missed the point. Like I should have spent way more time with the Lord; more minutes, more intention.

Have you ever felt that way? Like you had the time and still somehow missed it?

And then there’s Baxter.

Our puppy just got neutered this week and has strict orders from the vet… no running, no jumping, complete rest. And watching him fight against it has made me a little stressy these past few days, and I just feel for him. Because he wants to play, he wants to run, he wants to have fun. But his body needs the stillness, whether he wants it or not.

And I thought… isn’t that exactly what we do? God gives us a pocket of rest, a slow morning, a few days off, and instead of actually receiving it, we fill it with Netflix and our phones and the busyness of a different kind. We fight the stillness just like Baxter fights his cone.

Sometimes we need a hard stop. A hard reset. And even when we don’t steward it perfectly, like I don’t think I did, there’s grace for that too.

Here’s what I want you to hear: spending time with the Lord should never feel like a checklist or a performance. The moment it starts producing shame is the moment you know your head is in the wrong place.

Early on in my walk with the Lord, there were seasons of checklist faith: read the chapter, say the prayer, check the box. But today, it’s so much different. It’s a sincere yearning and hunger to just be with Him. To learn more, gain wisdom, and sit in His presence. And even when a week doesn’t look the way I planned, that hunger is still there.

Do you yearn to be with Him?
Do you desire the Word of the Lord?
Do you dwell with Christ?

That desire… that’s the thing. That’s what matters to Him.

There is no perfect formula for retreating with God. The pressure we put on ourselves to get it exactly right is often exactly what gets in the way.

It’s really just you and Him. He and you. A relationship that desires connection, intimacy, and conversation, never performance.

The best thing about our God is that He lives inside of us. We can invite Him into all parts of our days. Not just the quiet, intentional ones, but the chaotic, messy, puppy-running-into-furniture ones too.

So if you feel far from the Father this week, retreat to Him, but don’t think it has to look a certain way. Here are some helpful ways to invite Him into all parts of your day:

• Open the Word first thing in the morning, before your phone

• Instead of scrolling when you wake up, pray out loud

• While your coffee is brewing, sit in silence and thank Him

• Turn on worship music on your walk and worship

• Pray before a hard conversation, a meeting, or a moment that feels heavy

• Asking Him for help and direction

There is no right way, but there is a Way, and it’s Him.

As you head into this week, do a little inventory:

• Has your time mostly been spent on what you want?

• Have you had any quiet moments at all?

• Can you hear clearly from the Lord right now?

• When did you last open your Bible?

Whatever it looks like for you this week, even five quiet minutes… retreat to Him. It’s always worth it.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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And I love to see it. I genuinely love that summer creates space for people to slow down, take family vacations, and get away. It’s such a gift.

But I’m not in school. I work full-time. And I have not had a summer vacation in I don’t know how long.

Honestly, “summer vacation” left me after college. The past couple of years I haven’t done a big summer trip and I’m truly fine with that, but this summer I’ve been reminded of it more than usual with no trips planned and being here. Which, again, I am so blessed, as I know I live in a beautiful city that people usually come to for their summer vacation. Charleston, you beaut.

Also, not having a summer vacation is a choice Jordan and I are making. We would absolutely love to travel… but it’s expensive, we’re saving for a house, and that’s just where we are right now. And that’s okay.

If you’re in the same boat, I hope this post finds you at the right time. I’m praying it encourages you and stays with you for the rest of 2026.

Here’s the truth I keep being reminded of right now: You don’t have to go anywhere.

You don’t have to book a flight to have quiet time, intentional time, and time to feel refreshed. You don’t have to cross state lines to find more time with yourself, your family, or your Father.

This week, for example, I’m taking a couple of days off work. I could feel it in my body and my soul; I needed a reset. I needed to retreat and felt like I needed to “get away”. So I’m taking the margin I have, and I’m using it. Slow mornings, quality time with friends, and finally booking that massage I have a gift card for. (Praise!) And none of it requires leaving Charleston, it's all happening right here. I don’t have to get away and go on these fancy trips just to feel that refreshment I know my body and soul need.

These past few weekends have been so full of celebrations, which have been so sweet, but I haven’t found the space to actually reset and come back to myself and move closer to the Lord. So this week feels like a gift I’m giving myself permission to receive.

Repeat after me: a retreat isn’t always a destination. It’s a posture. Let’s not get this twisted.

A destination is nice, but you don’t need those nice things to feel “like a brand new woman.” You don’t need that to feel relaxed and closer to the Father.

So what does retreating to be closer to Jesus actually look like when you can’t fly to Mexico? That’s exactly what we’re going to talk about over the next few weeks here on Daily Daughter.

Welcome to our new series, Rise & Retreat. A series about spending quality time with your Father, your people, and yourself; in the ordinary days, the free days, and the slow ones.

Let’s learn to rise and retreat so we can come back to the fall season as a fuller, more rested version of ourselves, for our own sake and for the people around us.

I’d love to hear from you! Drop a comment below... what does retreating to Jesus look like for you when you’re not able to go anywhere?

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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I am in a season that is super full of celebration. This month alone, I have a baby shower every Saturday, plus one I couldn’t even make it to (sorry, twinny). It’s full and so special because I get to celebrate and love on my close gals who are bringing new life into this world.

At one point, I had to stop myself, because I was realizing in slow motion that ALL of my girlfriends were getting pregnant. Ten of them, to be exact.

I was convinced there was something in the water.

And while it’s a gift and a joy to watch these women grow, don’t think for a second I haven’t thought “wait, I want this,” or “I wish I could be pregnant alongside them,” or “God, when will it be my turn?” - because I am human, and those thoughts run through my mind, too.

But the root of those questions is the noise of comparison. I really have to pay attention to it because one thought of comparison turns into twenty more.

I am so grateful for the Lord and His heart toward us. I’m grateful for Scripture and for the trust that He knows the perfect timing, and that, for this moment, He has called me to celebrate and love on my girls around me, and I am SO grateful I get to share this moment with them.

Have you ever been in a season where everyone around you was living something you wished you were living too?

This starts for us in childhood.

We can’t wait to be in middle school.
Then high school.
Driver’s license? Sign me up.
Prom?
College!
Then it’s the adult job (and then most of us just want to go back to college).

Then it seems to be the season of engagement, and everyone is there, except you.
Marriage… except.. where’s my person?
Children…
The list goes on, and it always comes back to comparison.

Comparison is loud, and it’s hard not to compare when social media is everywhere. TV shows and movies have convinced us our lives should look a certain way. The people we follow create a narrative in our heads that we should look the same, dress the same, and become the same. Even though God never intended for us to look alike. He knit each of us together so complex and so marvelous. We are His workmanship, made on purpose, for a purpose.

The noise of comparison devalues the life the Lord has already numbered for you. Psalm 139 tells us that every single one of our days is recorded by Him. Comparing your life to someone else’s doesn’t do your soul any good; it just takes your eyes off the good and perfect Father and puts them solely on yourself.

So let’s quiet the noise of comparison.
Let’s release it, and fill that space with silence instead.

Lately, I’ve been practicing silence more than ever. Stillness has never come naturally to me. I used to need to be doing something all the time, and if silence crept into my day, I would fill it immediately.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good agenda, and I still love staying busy. But over the last few years, I’ve worked on this part of myself. Now, when something feels off in my life, when I can’t hear from the Lord, when I feel spiritually distant, when comparison starts creeping in, I know it’s time to get back to the Word and get quiet enough to hear from the Father.

So over the past couple of months, I’ve taken silence to a whole new level:

1. On walks. I find so much peace here. No earphones, no podcast; just walking and praying.

2. While working out. I never thought I’d see the day I wasn’t blasting pump-up music while lifting, but on the days I’m not in a class, it’s complete silence. There’s something strange and comforting about it. It’s just the Lord and me, and I invite Him into that space.

3. In my car. This has been the hardest but most fulfilling one. I usually want a podcast or music playing the second I get in. But I’ve noticed that when I’m restless and can’t figure out what I actually want to listen to, that’s usually the sign I need silence instead. I use that time to breathe, relax, and pray.

The silence always brings my focus back to Him and releases whatever noise has built up in my head.

And if I’m honest, the root of most of that noise for any of us is comparison. Job, motherhood, finances, children, marriage, friendship, body image, vacations. You name it, it always comes back to comparison.

This brings me to 1 Kings 19:11-12, when God told Elijah to go stand on Mount Sinai, the mountain of God:

“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

The Lord was not in the noise. He was in the whisper.

Comparison is noise. It fills the space that was always meant to be spent listening to what the Lord says about you.

That soft, gentle whisper… that’s where you’ll find His voice.

If you can remove the noise, release it, and fill that space with silence instead, you will hear Him. You will be filled. You will find joy and peace in the middle of whatever circumstance you’re walking through.

So release the noise, and move toward the true source of life, Jesus.

Comparison is loud.
He is quiet.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Raise your hand if you have the Oura ring.

Now raise your hand if you don’t have the Oura ring, but you have another wearable tracker.

You can put your hands down now. :)

I also have an Oura ring. And before that, I had an Apple Watch for years.

We as humans have become literally obsessed with knowing every. single. little. detail. about. ourselves.

Which, I understand, can be helpful and healthy. Knowing the ins and outs of your body, what you can improve on, what your body needs, etc. But these trackers that are meant to be a helpful tool? They can also be extremely harmful for our mental health. (Hello, raising my hand again.)

What starts as a helpful tool can slowly turn into an obsession, and then into something that gets more of your attention than the one who formed you and has your days numbered.

Yea… I needed that wake-up call, too.

I’ve had my Oura ring for almost a year. When I first got it, I was so excited as it was acting as a form of birth control for me, and it was also just fascinating to track my sleep, stress, and recovery.

But recently? It became the complete opposite of helpful.

I realized that the very first thing I did when I woke up each morning was check my sleep score and readiness score; before praying, before quiet time, before coffee, before even letting my body slowly wake up.

My morning rhythm looked like this:

1. Wake up

2. Grab phone

3. Check scores

That is not the rhythm I want for my life.

These days we get to live are such a gift, and I want to thank the Provider before I do anything else. Instead, within minutes of waking up, I was already reading: “You okay? Your sleep score was low, and your readiness isn’t great today.”

Excuse me?

That created anxiety I didn’t even need before my feet hit the floor. I was letting a ring decide how I was going to feel about my day instead of going to the Lord and letting His truth speak over me first.

Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” And there I was, minutes after waking, already thinking, “Well… today is going to be rough.”

And maybe that day would have been hard regardless. But I am 99.9% sure that if I had never looked at those numbers and just gotten up, made my coffee, and opened my Bible, I would have felt so much better going into it.

So what are we really looking for when we check our trackers?

For me, while the screen was loading, I’d think, “Please let it be good.” If the score was high, I would feel on top of the world. If it wasn’t, it cost me worry, anxiety, and stress before the day even started.

What we’re really looking for, if we’re being honest, is reassurance, answers, and control.

And for me, underneath all of it, was something even deeper: trying to create my own timeline instead of trusting the Lord’s.

So let me ask you:
What’s your Oura ring? Maybe it’s not a tracker at all.
What are you holding onto?
What have you given more attention to than the Lord?
What are you still carrying?

This might be something you’ve been carrying since January. Something you set for yourself that has taken up every bit of your mental space. Something you’ve been gripping on to for six months.

Daughter, let it go. Give it to the Lord. Let Him carry it.

I think the Lord is just funny sometimes with His timing because walking through this season with my husband, and coming to these realizations over the past few weeks, I keep coming back to the verse Jordan and I chose together for this year.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

King Solomon, who God blessed with more wisdom than any man, writes with all your heart. Not part. Not a section you feel comfortable surrendering. ALL. Trust Him with your entire being. Don’t lean on your own understanding (which is hard), but in all your ways, acknowledge Him.

And that word acknowledge, let’s look at this a little closer.

When I read it, I used to think it just meant recognizing someone is there. A nod. A mention.

But the Hebrew word is yada. It means to know intimately. A deep, lived, experienced knowing, not just in your head but in your heart. To fully recognize His sovereignty. To yield to His plan even in the uncertainty, the fear, the waiting, the things you desperately want but can’t control.

He is in control. Always has been. Always will be. Even when you think you have it, you don’t. And the beautiful thing is, you were never supposed to. That dependence on Him alone? That’s not weakness. That’s the whole point. And when we live surrendered to that, He makes the path straight.

It’s hard. But it’s a command and a way of living that leads to life, and life to the full.

So now what?

It’s time to release whatever is taking up space in your mind that isn’t from the Lord.

For me, the release looked like taking off the Oura ring at night. I don’t wear it to sleep anymore, and it’s not the first thing I check in the morning. I leave my phone, connect with the Lord, and let His word wash over me before the noise of the day starts.

Am I perfect at this? No. Some mornings, I grab my phone and mindlessly scroll while the coffee brews. But I can tell you, the mornings I leave it? I feel so much better. Cleaner. Ready for whatever comes.

What does release look like for you? What are you going to do to take the load off?

Let me know, we can do this together!

Before you go and do the hard thing, which is also the best thing, here are a few reminders:

1. His ways are always better than ours

2. His will > ours, every time

3. The Holy Spirit lives in us. We don’t have to do any of this alone.

Proud of you. Let’s keep going.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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I’m asking because I genuinely want to know, and because I’m learning to ask myself those same questions more honestly.

May was a wild ride. I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but for me, it was a full month of celebration, sweet friends, fun events, work, and Nina snuggles. Beautiful on the outside. But can I be honest with you?

May turned out to be one of the hardest months for me, spiritually and physically.

I’ve felt anxiety rise in me before, but it usually passes. May was something different. I was hit with anxiety attacks and chest pain that wouldn’t quit, followed by too many Google searches and way too much attention paid to my Oura ring (more on that soon).

Can I just say, I am so sorry to anyone who battles anxiety on an everyday basis. Feeling the way I did, while still having to show up, was debilitating on the inside for me. It left me feeling like something was wrong with me. The question of “why me” when I know God has better.

I just couldn’t shake it.

It was a perfect storm of:

1. Post-trip fatigue finally catching up to my body

2. Fears quietly creeping in

3. Trying to put myself in control instead of God

4. Overconsumption of Oura Ring stats

5. Google convincing me I was dying

Combined? Not good for this girl.

But today, I am doing so much better. Thank you, God.

I’ve taken time to process it, pray through it, and understand the why behind it. The Lord has already taught me so much through it, and I’m still asking Him for wisdom and discernment for the parts I don’t fully understand yet. I’m grateful for what I already know, and for the action steps I’ve put in place since.

May was sweet… but I’m glad she’s behind us. His mercies are new today and every day after.
And with that, I’m closing the chapter on May and opening the door wide to June.

Now.. June. Hello, new month! Hello, fresh vision! Hello, second half!

I blinked, and we are six months in. It’s wild, and I know we say it every year, but time really does fly.

For a lot of us, the halfway mark can feel daunting. It hits the brakes fast.

Where did the year go? Did I miss it? Do I still have time? What if I can’t do it all?

Sister, take a breath. You didn’t miss it. You still have time. And you were never supposed to do it all anyway.

I get it, though. I feel it too sometimes. But I keep having to bring my eyes, my heart, my mind, and all of me back into alignment with the Lord and His plans, rather than my own. We are not in control of our lives, even when we think we are. And that is the most freeing thing in the world when you actually surrender to it.

So that’s exactly where we’re going next.

Starting next week, we are kicking off a brand-new series here on Daily Daughter: Rise and Release.

We’re going to talk about releasing what we’ve been holding on to. The plans. The fears. The physical clutter. The mental noise. All of it. And we’re going to do it together before the second half of 2026 begins in full.

Vision for your life is good. Goals are good. But the moment they become an idol, the moment you’re measuring your worth against a checklist from January, it’s time to let it go.

Let’s get up. Let’s rise. And let’s release what was, so we can step fully into what’s to come.

Stay tuned, it’s going to be a good one.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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And I want to say this again as we close out: these fruits are not ones we pick and choose from. There is no “I only feel like showing this one today.” When the roots grow deep, and we are daily in His Word and seeking his face, these fruits naturally come. And others see it. And they want it too.

The final fruit mentioned in Galatians 5 is self-control. And friend, this is one I have to surrender to the Lord every single day.

A Daily Choice:
When we are born again, we read that we must pick up our cross daily and follow him (Matthew 16:24). This isn’t a multiple-choice question or an “if you feel like it” response. It’s a call to action. A clear, black-and-white command from Jesus. You have two options:

Option 1: Pick and choose what sounds good that day. Live your own life, do your own thing, whatever makes you happy. Listen to your heart and let it lead.

Option 2: Every morning, you wake up, give thanks to the Lord, pray and ask for fresh eyes and a renewed heart, deny your flesh, pick up your cross, and follow him.

I don’t know about you… but Option 2 is the life I want to live.

Is it easy? No.
Is it always worth it? Yes. Every single time.

Denying the things our flesh wants is hard. Our flesh wants things that can seem so good for us in the moment, but they can slowly kill us on the inside. And our flesh is sometimes so hard to overcome; we are weak individuals. But having the self-control to say “no” and to fall on your knees and ask Jesus for the strength only he can give is so humbling and so hard. But he can restore us. We don’t have to do any of this on our own. Thank you, God.

What Self-Control Really Is:
When you practice self-control, you’re really practicing obedience and selflessness. It’s a posture of the heart that says:

“God, this body is yours. Help me to see clearly what is truly good and what is not. Give me fresh eyes to see, fresh ears to hear, and a renewed heart to know when I need to turn the other way, for your glory and not my own.”

At its core, self-control isn’t really about us at all; it’s about him. It’s giving the glory back to God, because he’s the one who gives us the capacity for self-control to begin with. We wouldn’t even be able to practice this without Jesus going to the cross first.

And it’s worth noting: Titus 2:11-12 tells us that it is grace, not willpower, that teaches us to say no to ungodliness. Self-control isn’t white-knuckling it on your own. It’s grace producing something new in you.

So we practice self-control because Jesus exemplified it first. He is the model. He is the reason.

When Our Flesh Fails:
There are so many things that require self-control, and mine might look completely different than yours. I actually wrote one of my very first Substack posts about self-control because my flesh failed (I just haven’t actually hit “post” yet). And that’s life here on earth. We will continue to fall short, mess up, and stumble. But what matters is how we get back up and how we run the race afterward.

Things That Help Me

1. Pray for eyes to see. I ask the Lord regularly to reveal blind spots in my life, the areas I can’t see clearly on my own.

2. Turn the phone off. So much distraction lives on social media. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is put it down and open your Bible instead.

3. Confess sin. I know.. it’s uncomfortable, messy, and icky. But I promise you, freedom is found on the other side of the thing you don’t want to tell anyone. The enemy wants to keep you stuck in silence. The Lord says there is freedom when we confess to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

4. Get in community. You can’t confess if you’re not around other believers. Get out of your house and into a church and a small group. You need people, and they need you.

5. Remember that your sin is already forgiven. You don’t need to live in shame when you fall short. Receive the grace. Move forward. Don’t pitch a tent in the place of your failure.

None of these works in isolation, by the way. They all point back to the same thing: staying rooted. When the roots go deep, the fruit grows. And that’s been the whole thread of this series.

I pray this series has blessed you and given you a deeper look at what it means to bear fruit as a believer. Not fruit we manufacture on our own, but fruit that grows naturally when we stay close to the vine and abide.

Let’s keep running this race well. Let’s keep watering where the Lord has planted us. Because from deep roots come deep fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and yes, self-control.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Gentle with myself.
Gentle with my spouse.
Gentle with my friends.
And gentle with God’s timing.

With everything around us, the overstimulation of what’s online, balancing work, a quiet life, and everything else on my to-do list…. sometimes, I am not a gentle human being.

*gasp,* It’s true.

Jesus is completely God and completely human, lived the same life that I’m living, and lived it perfectly.

He exemplified what it means to be humble, lowly, kind, and gentle.

I know that some of us wouldn’t call Jesus “gentle,” and would argue that him flipping tables isn’t gentle. But when reading and rereading the scriptures, Jesus was incredibly gentle. And he exemplified both. Gentle and passionate.

He was gentle with his teachings. He spoke truth in love. He often taught in parables, making difficult things easier to grasp. Some might say that it was gentle in itself. He could have taught in a harsh, demeaning manner. But he doesn’t. He asks questions, he gets his people thinking, and he teaches with gentleness.

He was gentle with his approach to people and healing. People would come to him anxious, afraid, terrified, in pain, in disbelief, and each time he listened, spoke calmly, and healed. Then he would say, “Go and tell the people you have been healed” or “Go silently, you have been healed.” Granted, I wasn’t there, and I don’t know exactly what his tone was like, but reading it, I see care and love for his people in every word.

One example of this is the story of Mary and Martha. Martha comes to Jesus in such distress over why her sister isn’t helping with the dinner she’s preparing. And Jesus, lovingly and gently, tells her that Mary is not at fault. She is listening earnestly to his teachings. This entire story could have been a different direction if Jesus had yelled back at Martha, become angry or dismissive. But he doesn’t. Again, he responds gently. He defends Mary without shaming Martha. That’s the kind of gentleness that holds two people at once.

He was gentle with his time with God the Father. We see throughout scripture that Jesus often went away alone to pray. We don’t know exactly what those moments looked like, but the fact that he stepped away from the noise and into nature, just to be with the Father, shows me that there is gentleness in that posture of prayer. A reminder that even Jesus needed stillness.

He was gentle with his followers and those who betrayed him. Many times his disciples got confused, didn’t understand, or got in their own way. And Judas, his own disciple, betrayed him, and Jesus knew it was coming. Yet he still broke bread with him. Yet, he still sat at the same table. And the night Judas kissed him on the cheek, Jesus didn’t go in for a fight. He looked at him and asked, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Luke 22:48), and then went ahead with the arrest anyway. That is not weakness. That was Jesus responding from a place of settled, gentle strength.

And daughter, he is gentle with you and me, too.

As with all of the other fruits of the Spirit, he models gentleness first and then freely gives it to us. Just as David writes in the Psalms: “Your gentleness made me great.”

It’s so true. His gentleness toward us is what moves us to want to offer that same gentleness to ourselves and to the people around us. We don’t manufacture it ourselves. We receive it, and then we give it away.

Will we be perfect? No.
Will we still snap? Probably.
Can we pray every day for a gentle spirit, a gentleness that only comes from the Holy Spirit inside us that Jesus freely gave? Absolutely.

Hold onto that today, and every day after.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Hi, my friends!

It’s so good to be typing on my laptop again. I have been on quite a hiatus… life happening, a busy work season, and being out of town. But I realized on my walk last night just how much I miss writing, and why it is that I tend to start something, get good at having a rhythm, and then one thing throws me off course and I can’t seem to find the road again.

I am getting better at finding the road and staying on it for the long haul.

We are still in the series of the Fruit of the Spirit, and today we are focusing on the fruit of faithfulness.

Faith, what we hold onto when we don’t always see clearly. When we don’t always see anything at all. It’s the heart position of complete trust and knowing, really knowing, that one day we will be able to see with our eyes all the things we had faith in.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for faith is emunah. The root of the word means firmness, steadiness, and reliability. Faithfulness is being so rooted in someone or something that you lean on them steadily and do not fall.

In the New Testament, the Greek word is pistis, often translated as both faith and faithfulness. It means trust, belief, and loyal commitment. It’s not just a word; it is relational, and it produces action.

God is faithful first, before we ever can be.
We are able to put faithfulness into action because God alone sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins, and for us to live this life we now live.

One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

But, sometimes faith and having faithfulness is a lot easier said than done. Faithfulness isn’t just for the mountaintop moments. It’s for when things go sideways. When the outcome wasn’t what you prayed for, what you planned for, or what you would have chosen for yourself. Faithfulness is anchoring yourself to the truth that God is good and sovereign, even when life doesn’t look the way you imagined it would. Trusting that His plan, even the parts that surprise you or hurt you, is better than anything you could have written for yourself.

That’s not blind optimism, that’s faith at its core.

God is real, God is alive, God is active, and because of this great news, our story isn’t over. We can have lasting, great faithfulness, knowing that one day Jesus will return and we will be in our true, forever home in the Kingdom of God.

So, what does this look like in action? How do we show this to others?

We spread the Good News. We remind our brothers and sisters in Christ that having faith in what’s to come is better than doubting tomorrow. We pray and pray and pray. We call out the enemy when temptation arises to think otherwise. Faith is the assurance of things not yet seen, but it is the real, lasting medicine that helps us fight battles here on earth and live with hope and joy for what is ahead in the Kingdom of Heaven.

And while we wait, we call heaven down and bring heaven on earth. We recite Matthew 6:10, “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Thank you, God.

Today, daughter, I am urging you. Don’t shrink. Don’t hide. Have faith. Be faithful. The world needs it, and the Lord’s face shines down on you when you do.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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I took a pause on Rise and Remain last week to write something a little more personal, a reflection on 31 years and what the Lord has taught me in them. It was fun to reflect and look back and I am expectant for all that’s to come.

But today, we’re back. And I am so excited to dig into this next fruit.

If you’re new here or just jumping in, this series is called Rise and Remain and each week we’re focusing on one fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. You can catch up on all the previous posts here. I’d love for you to follow along.

It’s been such a joy to uncover truth through each of these fruits. And honestly, it’s been convicting too. Writing this series has felt like holding up a mirror; seeing clearly which fruits in my own life need a little more water to grow. What a gift it’s been.

Now, Goodness.

I’ll be honest, this one took me a minute. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness… those I understand. I know what they feel like and what they look like in action. But goodness? Most of the time that word comes out of my mouth as “goodness gracious” and that’s about it. Anyone else?

I understand the first part of the word, “good.”
Growing up, doing good and the difference between good and bad was pretty simple to understand.

Let’s take getting grades for example.
A, B = good.
C = you’re getting by
D, F = absolutely not. At least, that’s how it worked in the Smith household.

And honestly, that framework followed me for a long time. Do good, get good results. Work hard, earn the grade. Be good enough and everything will be fine.

But, when I started really studying the fruit of goodness and digging into what it actually means biblically, I realized that the goodness God produces in us looks nothing like a report card. You can’t earn it. You can’t perform your way into it. And it has very little to do with how well you follow the rules.

The Greek word for goodness in Galatians 5 is agathōsynē. It means an uprightness of heart that shows itself in action. Not just being good on the outside, not performing for the grade, but an inner work that spills outward into the way you actually live. It’s actively living out the Lord’s character from the inside out.

Goodness is different from Kindness, which we talked about a few weeks ago. Kindness is gentle, tender, gracious. But goodness? Goodness has a backbone.

Goodness can look like confronting sin in love. It means standing up for what is true and right even when it’s uncomfortable. It means calling someone higher because you love them and can see something they can’t yet see in themselves. It’s boldness rooted in love, not pride.

Jesus himself said in Mark 10:18, “No one is good except God alone.” That’s not discouraging, it’s actually freeing. It means we were never meant to manufacture goodness on our own.

And that’s what makes God’s goodness so different from anything we could produce ourselves.

It is in God’s goodness that the Holy Spirit lives in me and I know what conviction feels like. He is always pulling me out of my flesh and into abundant life.

It is in God’s goodness that I don’t always get what I want. He knows what’s best for me. I think I know the story, but I only see one page. He sees it all. And I trust Him.

It is in God’s goodness that He sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. I don’t have to earn it, prove it, or work my way into salvation. My debt is paid. And I will never stop being grateful for that.

This is the goodness we get to overflow from. Not a goodness we produce, but a goodness we have already received when we surrender our life to Him.

In the same way that Christ’s goodness overflows onto us, we get to overflow onto others. That is what this fruit is really about.

We don’t produce goodness by trying harder to be good. We produce it by staying rooted in the one who IS good. The fruit always flows from the root. Goodness is what naturally grows when your heart is surrendered to Him.

So this week, I want to invite you to sit with this one. Ask the Lord to show you where goodness might be underdeveloped in your life. Where you might be playing it safe when He’s asking you to speak up. Where you’ve been performing goodness instead of living from it.

And when it feels heavy, come back to this:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6

Thank you, God.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Today, I turn 31.

And as I step into a new year, I can’t help but look back on all the ways the Lord has been teaching me, shaping me, and gently leading me.

These are 31 things He’s taught me in 31 years.

1. He is so patient. Even when I take my time, want control, or choose my own way, He is always gently leading me back to Him

2. His love is deeper than any human love. Greater than anything I could ever experience here on earth. His love covers me completely.

3. Seek wisdom and never stop learning. With anything, especially the Word of God. There is SO much goodness there. He blessed us with a mind, and that mind must be used to learn.

4. I can make decisions, but He determines the outcome. Even when I choose wrong, He is kind enough to redirect me. (Proverbs 16:9)

5. His truth > anything else. Feelings are fleeting, the Word holds true.

6. In my trials, He is good. Man oh man how I have had some trials. Thank you, Lord, for caring for me. Thank you for my trials. Without them I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. I love Romans 5:3-5 “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” AMEN.

7. Growth is part of His plan for my life. I call this Sanctification. This process is beautiful. It’s been incredible to see my faith journey from the beginning when I was saved in college. Thank you, God, for this process. The way I hear Holy Spirit, the way I can discern God’s voice. I pray for continued growth in this area.

8. Community is incredibly important. The Lord has been SO KIND in my life with the people around me. We are meant to do life in community and I am grateful for my people. Being with people that call me higher, lift me up, wipe my tears, celebrate with me and mourn when I mourn. It’s a gift.

9. I am beautifully and wonderfully made. I am his masterpiece. Knowing that he knit me together in my mother’s womb. Formed me. Knows the numbers of hairs on my head… baffles me. It truly does. I am unlike anyone. He made one of me. How incredible is that?

10. I am an important part of the body of Christ. I will use my gifts to build the church. I am a part of the body. And without a body part, the body can’t function like it’s intended to.

11. Obedience > anything else. Even if it doesn’t make sense (which most of the time it doesn’t) I will always choose obedience over comfort. There is fruit to be seen and understood later in life when obedience is acted on. Step out, it’s okay to be unsure. It’s okay to not see the entire picture… Trust that he does.

12. Practice silence. Sometimes, silence is obedience. I can’t hear Him if I’m always the one talking.

13. It’s okay to sit still. You don’t have to always be doing something and moving around. There is beauty in stillness. Let your body be still, let your ears be attentive to what the Lord might be wanting you to hear, your eyes be attentive to what he might want you to see, and your brain on pause for what he might want you to know.

14. If you’re chasing the world, you’ll lose your soul. Chasing the world leaves you empty. Chasing Him leads to a full life.

15. Serving > striving. When I serve others, I reflect Him.

16. God’s creation is a gift, go be outside.The outdoors really is medicine for the soul.

17. He is healing me. Even if it’s slow, even if it’s not finished, He is faithful in the process. Do I still have moments where I feel like my ED is taking over? Sometimes. Do I still have bad body image days? Sometimes. BUT he continues to heal me and strengthen me and I believe whole heartily this will be something I completely overcome, even if it’s a slow process. 2020 Katie is very proud of 2026 Katie.

18. Do not worry about today. He gives us daily bread. DAILY. Take each day as they come and know he is in control. I always say this to the people around me (and I remind myself) this life isn’t meant to be lived in stress mode. We must stay focused on the day that is in front of us. Tomorrow will have worries of its own.

19. Pray. Journaling my prayers is really how this love for the Lord started. Man, do I have journals on journals. But, prayer walks are so nice. Praying in my car has been my latest love. But, pray pray pray, every single day.

20. Pray again. You think you can’t pray that same prayer twice? Tell me where that is a rule! Pray again. That same prayer!!! He answers.

21. And pray for others. Praying for others is powerful. Praying for others is healing in itself. Praying for others is how we love and serve our brother and sister in Christ beside us. We have the same spirit in us as the spirit that raised Jesus out of the grave. We can be an advocate and pray for others. We can intercede and help heal.

22. Confess your sins, talk about your struggles. This is why we have community around us. The enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy. We must combat that by speaking what it is that is killing us on the inside. Bringing anything to the light is a way to combat sin.

23. This life is a gift. Never take it for granted. We think and are so used to “thinking” “knowing” we have another day. We don’t know that for sure. We don’t know when the Lord is going to call us home. It’s a blessing to be here.

24. Start the bible study. Getting in a small group is great. But leading a small group and starting the bible study will grow you.

25. Spread his faithfulness. Anywhere and everywhere. Never stop proclaiming about the things he had done. You don’t know who can and will be saved because of your faithfulness.

26. Invite people over for dinner. Bring them into your home. Share a meal. Communion with one another.

27. Invite people to go to church. It’s that simple. Let’s bring more people to know Christ. Bring them into community, too. Let them find their people.

28. Thank him everyday. For EVERYTHING. Gratitude keeps the heart in a place of thankfulness. He is so good and kind and the way I feel extremely grateful for all that is in my life. The little and big things. Thank you Jesus. I will forever sing your praise and thank you.

29. He hears, sees, and answers prayers. When I think I am alone, he is there with me. When I have a bad day, he sees me. When I ask why, he hears me. And he speaks. He is a good Father.

30. Take a Sabbath. Turn off your phone. Rest. Go be in his creation. Go laugh. Go clean. Go do the things that make you refilled. We weren’t made to run on empty.

31. He knows the rest of my story. Father, you hold it all together. Thank you for 31 years. I am expectant about the next 365. May this next year be a year of growing more, spreading your name, sharing your goodness. May I continue to grow into the woman you have called and made me to be.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Growing up, I remember many moments when I would go to my mom in distress. Feeling angry, sad, or confused after a conflict with peers at school or at my dance studio.

I would tell her when things didn’t go the way I expected them to, or when someone had been rude to me.

Her response was always the same: Just be kind.

I remember feeling so annoyed and confused by that answer. It made no sense to me that I should be kind to someone who had hurt me.

She also never really explained the why behind it, which only made me more frustrated.

But now, at 30, I look back and understand it more clearly.

And Mom, thank you for teaching me that lesson.

Kindness can be hard for us, especially when we are hurt, betrayed, confused, sad, or angry. All of those emotions can rise quickly within us, and we can be just as quick to express them outwardly.

I used to be quick to speak out of emotion and slow to listen.

Now, it is something I continually have to practice. Sometimes, I even need prayer at that moment. But I can tell you this: there is precious fruit in being slow to speak, taking a moment to gather your thoughts, your emotions, and how you truly feel before responding.

In that slower process, we create space to respond in kindness.

In Ephesians 4:32, we are reminded, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

I know emotions can run high, and this is often easier said than done.

But we must remember that the person standing in front of you, the one who may have caused hurt or pain, was made the same way you were. They are human just like you. They sin, just like you do.

So, we must be kind.

The act of kindness can go much farther than we realize, especially if the person in front of us is not a believer.

How we respond in difficult moments can truly impact the person we are speaking to. And in the process, we are also watering the fruit of kindness growing within us.

Deep roots lead to stronger, steadier fruit.

I love this reminder in Ephesians because it points us back to something so important: the Lord has been unbelievably kind to us.

And in response, we are called to live that same kindness out toward others.

In Luke 6:35, we are also reminded: “Love your enemies, and do good… and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

We are not kind because we want to prove we are better than someone else.

That is not genuine kindness.

True kindness flows from a heart that understands the kindness it has already received from God.

And while we will not get along with everyone in this life, we are still called to be people who reflect the light of Christ in how we treat, speak to, and respond to others…even those who hurt us.

This life is short, so let’s spend our days remaining in kindness, and leave the rest to the Lord.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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We live in a world of immediacy. You can buy something, stream something, text someone, get an answer… instantly.

Our brains have been trained to expect quick results. So when something in real life requires waiting, it feels unnatural. Even painful.

But if everything came instantly, patience wouldn’t be a fruit of the Spirit.

Have you ever wanted something so badly?
Prayed for something to shift?
Asked God to move, and years passed before anything changed?

Waiting exposes us.

In James 5:7-8, we read: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.”

The farmer plants the seed, and then waits.

Beneath the soil, growth is happening.
Roots are forming.
Life is developing where no one can see.

The same is true for you.

And if we really think about it, we are all waiting for something.

Not just answered prayers.
Not just open doors.
Not just the next season.
We are waiting for Him.

James wasn’t just talking about crops. He says, “Be patient… until the coming of the Lord.”

Every single day we wake up on this earth, we are living in the in-between.
Between promise and fulfillment.
Between brokenness and restoration.
Between now and Christ’s return.

Patience isn’t just about surviving a delay. It is about learning how to live faithfully in the waiting.

So we must wait well.

In the Book of Lamentations 3:25-26, it says: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Wait quietly.

Not anxiously.
Not forcing.
Not grasping.

Just trusting.

And here is what softens my heart the most:

God is patient with us.

In 2 Peter 3:9, we’re reminded: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

He is not late.
He is not indifferent.
He is intentional.

Think about the number of times we’ve rushed ahead.
The times we’ve doubted His timing.
The times we’ve wanted the whole picture instead of daily bread.

And still, He is patient and has always been.

I don’t love waiting.
I like plans.
I like clarity.
I like timelines. (hello, type A)

But patience is forming something in us that instant gratification never could.

While you wait, you are becoming.

Becoming deeper.
Becoming steadier.
Becoming more like Him.

So we must remain in patience.

Be patient with God.
Be patient with others.
Be patient with the driver in front of you.
Be patient with yourself.

You are still growing underground.

And He truly does make everything beautiful in its time.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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There are many reasons I love living in Charleston. One of the biggest? The water is not far from me.

It’s funny, I can’t even tell you the last time I stepped onto one of the beaches near me. But I know this: within twenty minutes, I could be there.

And there’s comfort in that.

There is something about water that pulls me back to steady ground, something that allows me to take a deep exhale. Maybe it’s the rhythm of the waves. Maybe it’s the sand beneath my feet. Maybe it’s both.

But I do know this: I feel the presence of the Lord every time I am near the water.

Is there something like that for you?
Something that slows your breathing?
Something that makes you feel safe?

Last week we talked about joy.
Today, we’re talking about peace.

If I’m honest, peace can feel harder to grasp.

Our feeds are loud.
Our world is loud.
Conflict. Comparison. Division.
Busy homes. Busy schedules. Constant notifications.

But what I know for certain is this:

Our God is a God of peace.
Not temporary peace.
Not circumstantial peace.
Steady, consistent, anchoring peace.

One of my favorite stories in Scripture is in the Gospel of Mark, when Jesus and the disciples are in a boat during a terrible storm.

The disciples are panicking, water is filling the boat, and fear is loud.

And Jesus? He’s just sleeping.

Then, when the disciples wake Him, He stands and says: “Quiet! Be still!” (Mark 4:39)

And immediately the wind dies down, and the sea becomes completely calm.

Quiet.
Be still.

In the middle of chaos, Jesus uses His voice to silence the storm.

That stillness, that calm, is the peace available to us.

Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. It is not something we manufacture. It is something we receive, and thank you, Jesus, for that gift!

The disciples were consumed with “what ifs.”
But Jesus reminds them, and us, that fear does not get the final word.

Peace does.

We live in a world where anxiety is at an all-time high. Millions struggle daily with fear and spiraling thoughts. And yet Scripture gives us a defense.

In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God, including the shoes of the gospel of peace.

Shoes matter.

If you went ice skating barefoot, your feet would burn, freeze, and go numb. You wouldn’t last long.

In the same way, when we do not put on peace daily:
• We are more vulnerable to lies.
• We are more susceptible to noise.
• Our minds spiral.
• Our hearts grow numb.

Without peace, we lose our footing.

But when we lace up peace?
We stand firm.

Isaiah 26:3 reminds us: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

Perfect peace.
Shalom peace.
Whole, anchored, steady, unmoved peace.

Jesus also says in John 14:27: ”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

And Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything… and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Daughter, you are not alone in the boat.

When you feel like you’re drowning in your own thoughts, when the waves feel loud, when fear creeps in..

Picture Jesus standing.
Picture Him speaking.
“Quiet. Be still.” And breathe.

Put on your shoes of peace daily. Stand firm. Fix your mind on Him.

Let’s seek peace and pursue it. And let’s be the steady voice that helps someone else tie their laces, too.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Joy is something we need more of.
And it begins within you.

Not loud, not forced, not dependent on circumstance, but quietly grown by the Spirit of God. It’s steady, alive, and active even in hard seasons.

Last week, we looked at the first fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, love. What love means, how deeply it matters, and how essential it is for us to live it out daily. Love is not small. It carries weight. Without love, we would not be here at all.

This week, we turn to the second fruit: joy.

Last fall, I wrote about the difference between joy and happiness. How happiness can shift, but joy is richer and deeper. You can read the full post here. But today, I want to go further, because when we read the word joy in Scripture, sometimes it feels confusing

In James 1:2-3, we read:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (ESV)

Joy in suffering? It doesn’t seem to make sense.

We also often see joy paired with the word rejoice. For example, Philippians 4:4 says,
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (ESV)

Joy is the condition of the heart.
Rejoicing is the expression of it.

Rejoicing can look like praising, thanking, worshiping, or declaring. And sometimes, when we choose to rejoice, even before we feel joyful, it leads us back into joy.

Proverbs 17:22 tells us, “A joyful heart is good medicine.” (ESV)

So we see:
- Joy in suffering
- Rejoicing as an expression
- Joyful heart as strength and health

There are many places in Scripture where we see joy. I encourage you to go search, read, and sit with it. But these three themes are where we most clearly see joy revealed.

Scripture is not telling us we cannot feel pain, or that we must feel happy every day. Joy is not pretending everything is okay.

When James speaks of joy in suffering, it reminds us that we are not alone. Our Father reigns over everything. Yes, everything. This world can be heavy, broken, and confusing, but we must take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.

Even in the pit, even in darkness, remain in Him, remain in joy.

It is the kind of joy that brings peace. A deep knowing in our spirit that in the end, we will be with Him in the true kingdom. Because we have Him, we can hold fast to that joy.

Sometimes, when your heart feels cloudy or distant, worship.
Put on music. Be still. Sing. Listen.

Often, when I rejoice outwardly, my heart slowly returns to joy, the joy of remembering. The same Spirit that lives in me is the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave. And that changes everything.

And when we experience the fruit of joy inwardly, and allow it to be expressed outwardly, something begins to shift. We start to notice the small, quiet joys woven into everyday life. And from that place, we can share this sweet and powerful joy with others.

When I experience joy from the Lord on the inside, I am changed, and I see my day differently. I wake up with a thankful heart, I find that joy in my favorite mug as I sip my coffee. I sit peacefully in the stillness while I see the sun rise. I cannot fully explain it, but biblical joy is truly medicine for the heart.

Jesus said in John 15:11,
“My joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete.” (ESV)

His joy, not the world’s version, completes us.

And when joy begins within you, it never stays contained.
It grows, it strengthens, it overflows, and slowly, it changes the world around you.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the gift of joy.
When I forget that joy is freely given, lead me back. Back to stillness, back to worship, back to you.

Lord, I pray for the daughter reading this who feels far from joy. May she remember that small joy can grow into deep joy, and deep joy can overflow, bringing light, healing, and a testimony others may need.

Thank you for the fruit of joy.
Thank you for letting me experience it within and, in turn, share it outwardly.

Let everything I do be done with joy.

Remind me of the simple joys in this life:
coffee in my favorite mug,
my favorite worship song,
slow, gentle mornings.

I love you, Lord.

In your holy name,
Amen.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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We all want to grow… but true growth begins in what we remain in.

I am so excited about this post today and the posts to come because this week we begin a new rhythm together.

If you’re lost, confused, or new here… hi. I’m Katie. I love the Word, hearing people’s stories, and encouraging those near and far from me to understand Scripture and carry it with them throughout their days, so they can truly see the impact it has on us. The word is alive and active. This earth can be hard, messy, and confusing, but we have something tangible, free, living, and powerful in the word of God.

My word for this year is Rise, rising in every area of my life, one step at a time. Rising in my walk with the Lord, speaking more, praying boldly, and serving outside my comfort zone.

Throughout this year, we will walk through different rhythms we can begin practicing in our day-to-day lives. Rhythms that prayerfully become habits so that you can rise with me. We are Daughters of the Most High, and I believe the Lord desires to grow us in deeper intimacy with Him and in our purpose here on earth.

We began this year with Rise + Read as we read through Proverbs. And today, we start our new rhythm: Rise + Remain. Each week, we will look at a different fruit of the Spirit, what the word says about it, how we can live it out, and what it looks like practically in our everyday lives.

The goal of this rhythm is never perfection, but growth. Rising. And sometimes increasing looks like a baby step, but even that is growth. Even that is rising.

Now, let’s talk about love.

Not the Valentine’s Day love you may hear about this week… but real, true, biblical love.

Love appears in the Bible hundreds of times. There is deep emphasis on love, and when we read about the fruit of the Spirit, love comes first.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23

This is not the first time love appears first. Jesus also tells us the greatest commandment:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:37-40

True biblical love begins with loving the Lord first, above everything else, with all our heart, soul, and mind. Not partially. Fully. It humbles us to remember He loved us so deeply that He died on the cross, for me, for you, for all of us.

Love is not light. It is not casual. Love is action. Jesus showed us this through the ultimate act of love, laying down His life for us. The Father loved us so much that He sent His only Son to bear the weight of our sin on the cross.

So let me ask you:

How are you loving the Lord?
Are you going to church just to check a box? Are you opening the Word just to post a picture about it and then move on? Or are you seeking Him, intentionally, daily in gratitude for the life He has given you?

How are you loving yourself?
Not in a selfish way, but in remembrance of what the Lord did for you on the cross. The way He knit you together in your mother’s womb. The way He calls you beloved. When you look in the mirror, do you see someone deeply loved by God? The fruit of love cannot overflow to others if we forget how deeply he loves us. Remember whose you are. Let His love fill you and then let it overflow.

How are you loving others?
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

We hear this verse a lot during weddings. But when you read it, it’s the action of love that we can and should be extending to everyone around us. This love is not easy. But Jesus modeled it for us. And the same Spirit that lived in Him lives in us. We won’t do it perfectly; we will fall short, but this is the way.

The more we choose love, even in the small moments, even toward the hard people, the more this fruit will grow in our lives. We become what we remain in. Remain in love, and love will grow in you.

So this week, as you go about your days, let’s focus on love.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is where it begins.
Remember whose you are.
Receive His love.
And then, one day at a time, love others. And love them well.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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As always, it feels like it flew by. And as always, things didn’t happen the way I originally thought they would. (At this point, I don’t know why I’m ever surprised.)

The Lord met me in my ordinary days this month. He surprised me.
There was good news that came out of January 2026, and yet I also know many of you would agree, January was hard. Hard personally, and heavy collectively. The state of our country. The world we live in. It feels divided, loud, and often against itself.

Because of that, I can’t think of a better time to pause and reflect on what this past rhythm held before stepping into what’s next.

Looking Back: Rise + Read

January marked the beginning of our Rise + Read rhythm, and we spent the month in Proverbs.

I love the book of Proverbs. It’s rich with wisdom and discernment, and it offers such a clear, practical picture of how we’re invited to live our lives here on earth. Proverbs teaches us how to walk wisely, and how the absence of wisdom shapes our future. Our words, our choices, our habits, and our relationships all matter. They either lead toward life or toward death.

For anyone who follows Jesus, Proverbs is a book we should return to again and again throughout the year. Every time I read it, I notice something new.

And if you’re reading this and you wouldn’t consider yourself a follower of Christ, I’m really glad you’re here. My prayer is that you’d read just one Proverb. Scripture has a way of meeting us in real life, right where we are.

Reading Proverbs aloud on my socials this month has been especially sweet for me. It reminded me how simple it can be to share the word of the Lord. I’m not trying to be creative, I’m just opening Scripture and letting it read me. Trusting that God will use His Word to reach whoever needs it.

God’s Word is alive. And it changes everything.

What Proverbs Revealed

As I finished Proverbs, something became incredibly clear to me:
At its core, Solomon was writing about the heart.

Everything flows from the heart, life or death. When we feed our hearts envy, bitterness, lust, pride, or resentment, the outcome is always the same. Sin leads to death. Every time. The flesh may feel like it wins in the moment, but in the end, we lose.

But when the heart is healthy, when it’s rooted in God’s Word, His ways, and His truth; our lives begin to produce a harvest full of abundant life. Because the root is right.

If you’ve noticed, many of my recent posts have circled back to the heart. That’s because I couldn’t stop thinking about it as I read my daily Proverb. January became a month of tending to the root, understanding why we do what we do.

Looking Ahead: Rise + Remain

And now, as we move into February, we’re shifting our focus to what grows from that root.

Think:
Root → Heart
Heart → Tree
Tree → Fruit

We all want to produce good fruit. And Scripture tells us exactly what that fruit looks like.

Galatians 5:22-23 says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Notice this: fruit is singular, not plural. This isn’t a list of traits we pick and choose from. It’s one life rooted in the Spirit, expressed in nine different ways.

So, our next rhythm is Rise + Remain.

Each week, we’ll focus on one fruit of the Spirit together. The goal isn’t perfection; we’re human, and we fall short daily. The goal is awareness. To see these fruits more clearly. To remember that Jesus embodied every one of them perfectly. And while we will never be Him, we are called to live as He did…loving, responding, and walking as He would.

By the end of this rhythm, my prayer is that you’ll see this clearly:
One strong root (the heart)
One healthy tree
= many kinds of fruit over time

I hope you’re excited to step into this with me.
We will continue to rise together, one day at a time.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍

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Do you like writing in your Bible? Are you a highlighter or an underliner? Maybe both? (That’s me!)

I love reading a section of the Bible I’ve read many times before, only to discover something new, something that makes me want to dive deeper and gain more understanding.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve loved this Proverbs Rhythm I’ve been doing every day in January, and I hope you’ve been doing it, too! I can’t believe we’re almost at the end of the month, but reading Proverbs every single day has been such a joy.

Just the other morning, I was reading my Bible in a Year and found myself in Matthew, underlining a verse that hadn’t been marked yet, no highlight, no underline.

I grabbed my pink pen, underlined it, and then went back to journal the verse in the notebook I use alongside my Bible In a Year.

It was Matthew 12:37 (NLT): “The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

I stopped. I wrote down the word acquit, knowing I probably understood it, but needing to check. Sure enough, it means: “to declare someone free from guilt, blame, or obligation, often in a divine sense of justification, forgiveness, or being declared righteous before God.”

Sitting with that, I couldn’t stop thinking about words. How powerful they are, how uplifting or destructive they can be, how quickly we can use them to build up or tear down.

Right before Matthew 12:37, Jesus says: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (v.34)

Our words reveal the condition of our hearts.

The Bible is full of this truth. God created everything by His Word. Proverbs overflow with wisdom about the tongue, life and death are in its power (Proverbs 18:21). James reminds us that the tongue, though small, boasts great things, and a small fire can set a forest ablaze. (3:5)

In Matthew, the Pharisees’ words revealed their resistance to God, their refusal to recognize Jesus, and their spiritual blindness.

When I read Matthew 12:37, I don’t see fear, I see an invitation to reflection.

It reminded me (and I desperately need this!) how quick I can be to say something I shouldn’t.

I want to be quick to listen, slow to speak.
I want to pause and ask:

• What do my words reveal about what I believe?

• Do my words reflect faith, trust, humility, and love?

• When I’m under pressure, what comes out of my mouth?
  

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Thank You, God, for the active words in Scripture that open my eyes, check my heart, and show me what might be spilling out.

Today, I pray you take inventory of the words you speak; not just to others, but most importantly, to yourself. Loving your neighbor starts with how you love yourself, and that includes the words you speak to your own heart.

I know so many of us (myself included) are so hard on ourselves, but, for what reason? Let’s love ourselves and give thanks for all the ways the Lord refreshes our minds, bodies, and souls.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for my mouth which is able to form words. May the words that flow from my lips be uplifting and encouraging to others and to myself. May what flows from my heart be pure and pour out naturally. Help me to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and quick to pray. Let me use the voice you’ve given me for good. Strengthen my speech, give me understanding, and help me pour into those around me. Thank you for your word, active and convicting. As I grow, continue to prune areas in my life that need healing.

In Jesus’ mighty name,
Amen.

Love,
Katie Jane 🤍