When walking the Camino was just an item on my bucket list, Allen and I connected with the Jacksonville Chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino. They were a wealth of information, a source of encouragement, and they were integral to our success of walking the Camino.

They were reflective of the Camino community at large. Regardless of where we were, when we met anyone who had walked a Camino, they were more than happy to share their story, and they were quick to extend a helpful hand back.

The experience was no different when we began walking the Camino. Pilgrims on the trail were a source of information, encouragement, and we knew we were in it together. We would cheer each other on as we passed each other throughout the day. We would commiserate when it was hard. We would celebrate next steps. When walking and seeing pilgrims before me and behind me, it was a steady reminder - ‘We can do this hard thing!’

Walking the trail, I began to try to put words to what I was experiencing through the Camino community. I was drawn to words from my piece I shared last week, ‘What You Said on the Mount’ (posted 8/28/26 - Allowing Change to Change Me). I felt words I wrote in that piece captured what I was feeling:

Together we help each other see what we can’t see.

The inspiration for writing those words three years ago was Matthew 7:1-6 related to seeing beams and splinters in our eyes. But as often happens with words I write, I see them differently later. And as I walked the Camino, I experienced that phrase in a much broader way. Sharing encouraging words, extending a hand back and just showing up go a long way in helping each other see what we can’t see - ‘I see you doing a hard thing - I’m here for you - I know you can do it!’

Since I’ve been home, I’ve continued to reflect on the words ‘Together we help each other see what we can’t see.’ And I continue to experience it more and more broadly in community. For sure, we need to help each other see splinters we need help seeing. But in loving community, in living life, there’s so much more to see.

Just sharing my thoughts today. What are yours?

What You Said on the Mount

     I read what You said when You spoke on the Mount

Serve You and You alone
My allegiance can't be divided
I can't serve You while serving anything else

     You said what that looks like

Acknowledge that without You I am nothing
Live in humility
Heed Your warning of temptation
Be mournful of my sin
Trust Your provision that is spectacular
See all You give as good
Treasure what lasts
Grasp the depth of all You have done for me
Hunger and thirst for Your kingdom and righteousness
Seek first Your kingdom and righteousness

Grow in a relationship with You that is real and intimate and personal and not for show
          Pray in secret
          Fast in secret
          Give in secret
          Serve in secret

     I read what You said when You spoke on the Mount

Do to others as I would have them do to me
Those who love me, strangers, enemies
Think of others broadly

     You said what that looks like

Speak words that are kind and true
Don't seek retaliation when I have been wronged
Pursue peace in relationships and interactions
Seek reconciliation in any offense
Settle matters quickly and don't escalate
Be an exemplary citizen
Don't judge others - I don't want to be judged
Give as I want to receive
Extend mercy as I want mercy extended to me
Forgive as I want to be forgiven

Grow relationships with others that bear good fruit
Cultivate relationships with others that bear Your fruit
Together we help each other see what we can't see

     I read what You said when You spoke on the Mount

Love God and Love People

     You lived what that looks like

It's hard and I can't do it alone
Help me know what You say
Help me live what You say
Help me teach what You say

Living life not wasted
Shining bright in the dark
Standing firm in the storm
Bringing glory to You

Walking the Camino offered an invitation to think differently and do things differently for a season. We were seeking to walk the Camino with a spiritual focus. Yet, our current spiritual practices would all be interrupted for a time. Looking back, here are a few simple things we did that helped keep our focus while we walked.

We walked a short distance on our first day and spent the night at Orrison. At dinner that evening, a couple shared that they planned to choose a word each day to talk about as they walked. Allen suggested that we do the same. We took turns choosing words, and some of the words we chose were fear, awe, purpose, community. The words we chose all held space that invited a spiritual direction to our conversations.

After we had been walking for some days, we began using a music app to play an inspirational song when we were down to our last mile of walking each day. It didn’t happen all the time, but sometimes we were able to find a song related to what we had been discussing. The music added energy and joy to our steps, especially when it had been a long day.

We adapted reading the Bible as it worked with our new daily Camino routine. I took a break from my current Bible reading plan. I printed Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount) and Psalm 120-134 (the Psalms of Ascent) to take with me. As time allowed, I would read those verses and journal.

I also took a copy of the piece I shared above, ‘What You Said on the Mount.’ It was something I wrote in 2023 trying to capture my personal thoughts of what I felt The Sermon on the Mount looked like. I also read that piece as time allowed.

I’ve always been a rule follower, but the Camino was a good exercise and a good reminder for me to hold my tools loosely and be mindful I don’t allow my tools to become rules.

Have you had circumstances that interrupted your usual practices? What were ways you were able to adapt for a short season or maybe longer?

It’s fairly common for those who have walked a camino to get a tattoo. And even though I knew I wouldn’t be getting a tattoo, I had a great deal of time to think about how I wanted to memorialize walking the camino.

I decided I would get a keychain to attach to my purse that would act as a charm. It was important to me for it to be a simple design with no words.

After we finished walking the camino, we shopped, and I landed on the yellow arrow keychain pictured at the end of this post. There are all sorts of markers used to direct pilgrims to follow the path all along the way. Yet I felt I was most often searching for a spray-painted yellow arrow. It might be spray-painted on a wall. It might be spray-painted on the ground. But I felt like I was searching for them everywhere.

My yellow arrow on my purse is important to me because it’s a visual reminder of all that the camino is teaching me. But it also offers a simple invitation to community. If someone is curious and asks about my keychain, my simple answer is that I walked the Camino Frances. A conversation that begins with that may end with that. But it also may end up going in any number of different directions.

My camino keychain is one of my stones of remembrance. Do you have a stone of remembrance?

In June of this year, Allen and I flew to Paris, traveled to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and began walking 500 miles over 37 days until we arrived in Santiago, Spain. It was something I had wanted to do ever since our daughter Emily had walked the Camino in 2018. It stretched me physically, spiritually, and mentally. And much of it was outside of my comfort zone.

There are lots of things that others have written and shared about walking the Camino, and one common thought shared is that you begin walking your inner camino once you get home. That’s where I am. That’s what I’m working on.

In walking the Camino Frances, God equipped and enabled me to do something big outside of my comfort zone by simply taking one step at a time. Don’t get me wrong. Simple doesn’t always mean easy and there was much about this journey that was hard. But now that I’m home, I’m thinking a lot about my comfort zone.

God is in the life-changing business, and I didn’t need to travel to Spain, I didn’t need to walk the Camino Frances for God to be able to change me. But I don’t know that much change occurs within me when I don’t step outside of my comfort zone.

There are circumstances I’ve lived that pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and great growth resulted. But my inner camino is giving me another challenge - to not wait until I’m pushed outside of my comfort zone, but to choose to go there. Nothing about choosing to go outside of my comfort zone is easy. But I did it before by simply taking each next step.

I don’t know what’s next. I don’t know exactly where God is leading. But I’m pretty sure it’s not in my comfort zone. God was in it before and I trust He will be there again. With faith in His direction, I’ll trust Him enough to simply take the next step.

What about you? Have you lived circumstances that pushed you outside of your comfort zone? Do you have a story of when you chose to live outside of your comfort zone?

Pilgrim, travel lightly, and open-handed are all words serving me well this year.

How about you? Do you have words that have been impactful for you this year?

A few months ago, I was part of a group discussing Psalm 23. The discussion included thoughts that the Good Shepherd draws us back with His crook when we stray from the flock. There’s the parable when the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to find the one, but do I bear any responsibility for self-examination?

It’s something I’ve been pondering - what are your thoughts?

This has been a practice that’s been serving me well for the past few years. I’m not reading scripture in a vacuum, but I’m also relying less on other books and commentaries as I read God’s Word.

What about you? Have you added any practices to your scripture reading that are serving you well?

As I’ve shared before, I’m a big fan of journaling, and sometimes five minutes of journaling is all I need. I used the above haiku as a prompt, gave myself five minutes, and walked away with some clarity.

I’m finding areas of my life where I’m churning, and procrastination is one of them. I can put off a decision thinking the decision will be easier to make later, after I have more information. But some of the words from my journaling have stayed with me:

• Do I learn by learning or do I learn by doing - there’s a balance - but a bunch of head knowledge isn’t always what I need.

Decision making is an area where I have room for improvement. I need to gather information, seek discernment, make the best decision I can with the information I have, then take the next step. I’m working on it.

How about you? Do you have areas in your life where you find yourself churning?

There are miracles God performed woven all throughout the Bible. This one caught my attention. It’s leading me to reflect on my prayer time and evaluate how I pray. I’m asking myself some questions:

• How much of my prayer time is active and how much is passive?

• How often do I make requests of God and then just sit and wait?

• Am I paying attention when God invites me to participate in the prayers I’m praying?

Any thoughts you’d like to share?

This has been one of the most powerful self-examination questions I’ve been asking myself. I’m not asking in a way that is skeptical or judgmental. I’m asking with a heart full of curiosity. And as I’ve been looking, God has been gracious to continually reveal the truth.

I’m curious - what are your thoughts?

I’m still pondering this one.

What are your thoughts?

Jeremiah 9:23-24 

This is what the Lord says:
     The wise person should not boast in his wisdom;
     the strong should not boast in his strength;
     the wealthy should not boast in his wealth.
     But the one who boasts should boast in this:
     that he understands and knows me -
     that I am the Lord, showing faithful love,
     justice, and righteousness on the earth,
     for I delight in these things.
          This is the Lord's declaration.
(CSB)

There are often times when I take credit or I give credit to others, when in reality the credit belongs to God. It’s another area where I’m trying to see what God sees.

What about you - any thoughts?

(And as I’ve been leaning into the slower pace of summer, I’m still feeling stretched by limits, so for the foreseeable future, going forward, I’ll be sharing posts once a week on Fridays.)

Trusting Enough to Let Go

They didn't think they had enough
He gave thanks for what they had
He broke it
They served it
They ate it
There were satisfied
They had more than enough

What am I holding on to that I think is not enough?

I’m sure I’ve encountered these verses in II Kings 4 before, but they felt new and fresh as I encountered them again recently. They drew me back to the New Testament accounts of when Jesus fed the multitudes, and to my piece ‘Trusting Enough to Let Go.’ I see areas in my life where I’m holding on to doubts and fears as I wrestle with what to do with my time, the words I’ve written, my story, and so much more. But as I’m learning to live open-handed, I’m continually amazed at all God does when I simply give back to Him what He has given to me.

What about you? What kinds of things are you holding on to?

As I’ve been pondering having God’s eyes to see, it took me back to when I was encountering the verses in John 4 where Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman. These are some of the notes I wrote during that time:

The fields are ready for harvest

• Who do I not see?

• What excuse am I giving?

• Who do I not speak to?

• Who do I not associate with?

The fields are ready for harvest

• What’s missing?

I’m pondering what I’ve been praying - can I honestly pray asking God for His eyes to see everything?

I’d love to know your thoughts - how do you encounter the verses about Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman?

I feel God is revealing things around me all the time and I don’t want to miss anything. I want to see, and I want what I see to embolden me. I often wonder if what I think is a miracle is really God just revealing what He’s been doing all along.

I’d love to know - what are your thoughts?

I’ve worn corrective lenses since I was eight. Without my glasses, I’m unable to read, use my computer, see details in nature. I would miss much if I didn’t have them. My glasses enable me to see and do so many things.

Yet, a quick google search reveals that while corrective lenses first appeared in the late 1200’s and early 1300’s, it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that they were beginning to become mainstream. I want to be mindful of my miracle of sight every time I put my eyeglasses on.

How about you? Have you experienced any ‘ordinary’ miracles?

Accepting Missteps In My Next Steps

My next step sets my direction
And while perfectionism seems a noble destination
It puts me on a wheel that's continually spinning and it gets me nowhere

Instead of a step toward perfectionism
Seeking discernment is a better step
Accepting that next steps come with missteps
That offer an invitation to next steps that perfectionism doesn't invite

When I ask God to light the next step
When I take the next step
When I take the next step after a misstep
I trust God to set my direction
My direction sets my next step

As it’s winding down to a slower pace of summer, I’m sharing a piece I wrote for myself that I feel captures part of what it looks like for me to seek to live open-handed. It’s what I’m trying to keep in front of me to remind myself of what that looks like. It’s one of my focuses for this year, and particularly this summer.

For the next few months, I’ll still be sharing things I’m pondering, but my posts will be shorter and simpler. Easing into summer, it’s a time for me to lean into continuing to share thoughts but use a few less words.

And for anyone who might be interested in what has grown from our compost heap, our Job’s Tears plants seem to be doing well.

How about you? If you picked a word for this year, how are you keeping it in front of you? Do you have any rhythms that shift for you during the summer?

Grieving Well

There were many things to process when I walked through a season of loss
There was confusion
There was anger
There was hurt - 
     hurt inflicted by me
     hurt inflicted on me

It was hard
I needed help
God provided but it wasn't always in a way I felt was helpful

It was a season of growing - learning - receiving - letting go
I didn't always have words to describe it
I didn't always want to describe it

During loss, life just stopped for a short time - that gave some comfort
But life was moving forward with or without me
I had to figure out what it looked like to rejoin a world that had lost so much familiarity 

There were things I felt would always be part of me
They were part of me
I couldn't just set them aside, push them away
I had to grieve them and their loss

God was healing
But the healing can hurt
As I was healing, I had to let go of the hurts
     and that hurt

It was a weird part of the healing
I hadn't fully processed the hard things
I hadn't fully healed from the hard things
Yet God was beginning to ask me to release them

They had become familiar
In an odd way, they provided some security and stability

If I released them, what would happen?
Life had been hard
I felt at some point, others needed to know how hard
They would need details and yet God was asking me to let them go

I didn't want to be defined by my loss
But I wasn't quite sure who I was without it

God knew I was carrying a weight that wasn't sustainable and
It would continue to weigh me down, hold me back

God was also shifting the focus - He was zooming out
It wasn't just so much about me and my loss anymore
There were other hurting people like me in focus

This made things easier and harder at the same time
I was comforted I wasn't the only one suffering loss
But I also had to shift the focus off of me - 
Is that ever easy?

It took time
It didn't happen overnight
I continued to take small steps
I continued to take next steps
But I have been able to trust God in the letting go


Grieving is challenging
There isn't a set of rules
There isn't a timetable

It's navigating when to share and what to share
It's navigating living with and letting go
We need to navigate grieving well

But we can't do it alone
We need God's wisdom
We need discernment
We need community

Grieving is important
Grieving well is vital
Let's learn to grieve well together
We can't grieve well alone

One of the first pieces I wrote in the fall of 2022 was titled ‘Jolts.’ It was something I wrote for myself personally. It captured all we had walked through in our season of loss. It was healing for me to get everything that had happened and all that I had felt out of me and tangibly onto paper. It was personal, unfiltered, and raw, and it was never meant to be shared broadly.

When I began writing haiku in the spring of 2024, I started to think through what it might look like to write my story in a way that I could share broadly. I printed a physical copy of ‘Jolts’ and picked up a pen. I physically crossed out all the sections I knew I would never share publicly. I summarized the remaining sections into haiku.

‘Jolts’ had only captured our losses of that season, so I added in haiku summarizing the joyful parts of our life we had experienced during that time.

After that tangible exercise of working through rewriting my story, the words for ‘Grieving Well’ flowed from my pen. God gave me words to write my grief story after physically working through rewriting my personal story. I felt ‘Grieving Well’ gave words to how I had grieved loss during that season.

What about you? Have you walked through a season of grief? Do you connect with any of the words I’ve shared, or have you encountered grief differently? I’d love to know.