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Week 18: A Peek Into This Past Week + What I’m Reading and Watching!

Week 18: A Peek Into This Past Week + What I’m Reading and Watching!

I’m so ridiculously proud of our oldest daughter, Kathrynne. She’s one of the most resilient people I’ve ever met. And that resilience has been hard won!

I mentioned her shyness and social anxiety on Instagram stories last week and I got so many requests to share more of how she overcame it. I wrote a full chapter on this story in my book, Love-Centered Parenting, if you’d like even more details and encouragement.

But here’s a shorter version that I shared on Instagram this past week…

I never could have dreamed that my shy, awkward, scared of talking to peers daughter would grow up to be the most outgoing, confident adult.

In 5th grade, she had so much social anxiety that we couldn’t really even get her to talk with kids her age…

We were homeschooling at the time, but we saw how much her anxiety around kids her age was stifling her, so we started putting her in different situations to try to help her work through her fears.

We tried small get togethers, swim team, various opportunities at church.. None of it was really making difference. She was still so scared to interact with those her age.

After a lot of prayer and discussion, we felt really strongly we needed to do something drastic or this was going to hold her back for years to come.

So we felt God leading us to quit homeschooling and put her in a small private Christian school.

She was so upset with us about this and really, really terrified.

We were pretty scared, too. What if we were making a terrible mistake? Would this forever hurt her? Would it ruin our relationship?

Parenting is often having to make really hard decisions having no idea what end result will be.

I remember dropping her off that first day in 6th grade. She was an emotional wreck inwardly and so upset with us. But we felt so strongly that we had to do this – even though she was positive we were making the worst mistake.

I prayed and cried and prayed some more.

The first few weeks were hard. She was so scared and upset with us and I had to inwardly battle all sorts of fears and misgivings.

But we kept taking her to school every day and, little bit by little bit, we starting to see positive things happening.

The girls at the new school were so welcoming and she started to come out of her shell bit by bit.

By the end of the school year, she was truly a different person. Instead of the awkward, shy child we’d always known her to be, she was a funny, outgoing, confident person. It was astounding to watch her blossom and her true personality start to come out!

Today, she is in multiple leadership positions, has a large friend group, is often hosting parties and get-togethers at her house, is regularly in positions where she’s 10-30 years younger than everyone in the room and holds her own with confidence, and she loves meeting and getting to know people.

It is truly incredible to witness!

I got to go to an awards ceremony two weeks ago where she not only was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, but also received a significant accounting scholarship (she’s an accounting major) – both things she’d put in quite a bit of effort to make happen – and I was just so proud of her.

To see the poise and confidence she has. To watch her going around and interacting with so many different people in the room. And to see her living life to the fullest.

Often, the hardest things in life end up shaping and growing us in the best of ways.

She had to push through her social anxiety and keep showing up back in 6th grade when it terrified her. But without punching fear in the face like she did, she never would be where she is today!

Kaitlynn texted this picture to our family group chat last week. It was from October.

And I look at it and my heart just melts. I think of how scared I was to say yes to fostering him and all the times I felt completely in over my head.

And yet, I didn’t know that that scary yes would end up changing my life and our family’s lives, would mean I get to be mama to the sweetest most precious boy, and would strengthen and build my faith like nothing I’ve ever experienced!!

God is so good!

I know that a lot of you reading this right now have something in your life that God is calling you to do that might feel overwhelming or too big or maybe even that terrifies you.

Look at this picture of David and may it inspire you with the courage to say yes and jump out in faith. You never know what God might have in store for you that will be so much better and more beautiful than you can imagine!

We’ve been waiting for direction on something for one of our kids and their future for weeks now. We’ve prayed a lot. We’ve sought a lot of counsel. And we’ve prayed some more.

We still don’t have clear direction. And so we wait.

Last night, at a church gathering with other women, one of the ladies said, “God is never late but He’s rarely early.”

I think back to when I took Kierstyn to Disney last week and I told her she was going to need to wear her metaphorical Patience Pants because we would be doing lots of waiting. I’m not good at being patient. I want the answers now. I want to know what the plan is.

But there is value in waiting. It gives anticipation. It causes you to appreciate the end result more. And it allows you to learn to fully rely upon God and not run ahead in your own strength to try to micromanage and manipulate the results you want.

He is working in the waiting. Let’s trust our good, good Heavenly Father’s timing. He is never late.

Your true beliefs are most evident when you are walking through the darkest valley.

It’s easy to say, “I trust in God” or to sing about His great faithfulness when life is going well… but are those sentiments still true for you when you are in a deep pit of struggle?

When it feels like the rug has been pulled out from underneath you.

When the thing you had hoped and prayed for doesn’t happen.

When the friend deeply betrays you.

When your bank account is nearly empty and you don’t know how you are going to pay your bills.

When you don’t get the job you so desperately hoped for.

When your child gets devastating news.

When you experience years of secondary infertility.

When someone you love walks out of your life and you haven’t heard from them in months.

When the door you were so excited to walk through is slammed in your face.

I’m here to say that we’ve walked through every single one of those things (some of them multiple times or for many months) and I can declare that God was faithful.

He has been, He is, and He will be faithful.

This was exactly one year ago last week – the day I went to my very first class at the gym. I snapped this photo right before we went into the class to post online so I wouldn’t chicken out. (I knew if I told the internet I was going to do it, I would actually follow through — even though it was so far outside my comfort zone! )

I look back on this last year and can’t even believe how that one step of signing up and walking into that class catapulted me on a health journey I never envisioned.

It started with getting over my fear of going to group workout classes.

Then, I hired a dietitian through Nourish and she helped me confront my years-long battle with undereating and chasing my worth from a number on the scale.

This led me to then start working with a functional medicine doctor who connected a whole bunch of dots for me about how I was overtaxing my adrenals, not paying attention to my body’s cues for sleep and rest and restorative time, and how I was living in almost constant fight mode and using work and busyness as a “drug” to numb and cope.

That led me to make the radical decision to cut way back on my work load and not set one single goal for 2026.

And then, in a really surprising and unexpected turn of events, I signed up for a 10k and have fallen in love with running.

I look at the woman I see staring back at me in the mirror a year later and barely recognize her.

She is so much stronger and fitter and capable than I ever believed she could be.

She is learning to breathe (literally — I had no idea I’ve been breathing incorrectly for years!).

She’s excited about having a stronger body that is allowing her to have more energy to show up for life.

She is dreaming big dreams that aren’t business related and geeking out about fitness and macros and running science.

She is sleeping more than she’s ever slept since she was a child.

She plays so much more and has hobbies.

She eats a healthy big breakfast daily instead of going as long as possible before eating.

She is just getting started… and cannot wait to see what this next year holds!!

(For more information and details on my health journey, read this long post here.)

Kierstyn turned 6 this past week and I spent some time reflecting on what a gift she is to our lives! The beauty, joy, laughter, the unexpected questions, and her love for learning… it’s amazing!!

(Just a few days ago she asked me if she could research Spanish programs online because she wants to learn Spanish over the summer. As one does. I watched over her shoulder as she looked up “Spanish phonics programs” online and then read up on the different options that each program offered. So apparently we are learning Spanish. If you have any great program recommendations, let me know!)

This past week I went on a retreat with my business coach, Alli Worthington, to 30A (beaches in FL) – can you believe I’ve never been to 30A before??

We spent time learning, processing, working on ourselves and our businesses, and having lots of laughter and fun, too!

We stayed at Seacrest, but explored the area and beaches around there, too! It was beautiful weather – and now I’m determined to figure out how to go here on a budget (is that possible? Send me your tips because I’d love to bring my family!)

One of the best parts is that I got to hang out with my bestie, Ashley – she is Alli’s Chief of Staff (and just an all-round incredible person!) and has become such a dear friend to me.

Want to see what we did on Thursday??

We went to The Sharp Shop and made wall-hangings from broken glass. It was such a beautiful picture of how beauty can come from brokenness. It was also such a great opportunity to exercise creative muscles that I don’t use often and get outside my comfort zone.

Here’s what I created (I used a wall-hanging there as inspiration!) They put resin over it and then we get to pick it up on Saturday!

“Mightier than the waves of the sea,
is His love for you.”
based loosely on Psalm 93:4

Two Books I Finished This Past Week

The Body Teaches the Soul – I slowly worked my way through this because it was SO good! It challenged me in so many ways — from how I view sleep, to how I view exercise, to how I view suffering, to how I view worship. Highly, highly recommended.

Depth – This book was so helpful for me as I’ve been walking with others through some deep grief. Look for a podcast episode with me and the author dropping in just a few weeks!

In Case You Missed It

Top 30+ Items to Buy at Sam’s Club — I recently asked over on Instagram: What are the can’t-miss, must-buy deals at Sam’s Club? The kind that actually beat regular grocery store prices and make the membership feel like a no-brainer. And oh my goodness… you all delivered. Check out this post for all the suggestions.

Easy Cheesy Kielbasa Pasta Skillet — This easy family dinner is a major win if your family loves macaroni and cheese. Made in one pan with simple ingredients, it’s creamy, filling, and super budget-friendly (under $10!). Plus, you can easily customize it with different meats, pasta, or veggies — perfect for picky eaters and real life.

An Easy Homemade Gift Idea: Vanilla Extract! — I made homemade vanilla for the first time last year and it was seriously SO easy! And, packaged into jars I found on Amazon it was a cute, useful, and frugal but valuable gift. Since it needs to sit for at least 6 months, now is the perfect time to make it in time for Christmas gifts. Check out the reel I shared on Instagram here and the easy recipe here.

15 “Weird” Ways to Save Money — These slightly quirky, sometimes overlooked, but very effective strategies can help families stretch their budgets further.