Awaken Your Soul to Receive

This time of year my soul begins to long for the warm light and the hope of spring. As the buds on the trees begin to swell and the days slowly stretch a little longer, I am always reminded of a passage in Ephesians:

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
[Ephesians 5:14]

After months of cold and darkness, something in us begins to stir again. We feel it in the light returning to the mountains, in the quiet promise of new growth, and in the deep places of our hearts that have grown weary.

Our souls can become parched under the pressure and noise of this culture. Life moves quickly, and it is easy to fill our days without ever truly being still.

Yet we are invited to something different.

We are invited to return.

To set aside time to enter His presence.
To be intentional.
To turn toward Him and pursue Him.

If we do not become intimate with His voice, how will we recognize it when He speaks to our souls?

Scripture reminds us where that light is found:

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
[John 1:4–5]

Spring reminds us that awakening is always possible. That light still breaks through darkness. That life still rises where things once seemed dormant.

So perhaps the question for this week is a simple one.

How can you set aside time to make space for God in your life?

What might need to be considered, adjusted, or even eliminated to make room for Him again?

Sometimes awakening begins with something as small as choosing to be still.

A Year Later...

It is honestly hard to believe that it has only been a year...it feels like a few years piled into one. There have been many tears shed + millions of dollars spent cleaning Asheville + the surrounding towns.

Looking back, it seems as though the storm happened in slow motion- it feels a little fuzzy + dreamlike. Perhaps that is how our brains protect us from the trauma?!

We have been terrified-traumatized-hopeless + numb...but as spring + summer moved in, we all began to feel a little more hopeful...some will always mourn the loss of loved ones, others will fear storms + rain for years to come.

But the beauty of seeing neighbors put aside the left + right divide…was priceless. We all gave what we could- helped when we had the chance + loved each other well!

To God Be the Glory!

Both of these paintings carry the story of Hurricane Helene. Blue Ridge Parkway at Dusk was painted right after the storm, when it felt like the world had turned upside down and yet there was still a glimmer of hope to hold onto.

Months later, as the hills turned green again, I painted Verdant Days of Summer- a reminder that even in destruction, God brings renewal. Ann Voskamp writes, “Hope is never lost because Hope Himself never loses track of you.” That’s the heartbeat behind these pieces: grief and loss, but also the hope that only God can give.

Blue Ridge Parkway at Dusk
36x36 | Oil on Canvas | Unframed
*framing options available upon request

A glimmer of hope in the midst of Hurricane Helene.
“I pray also that you will have greater understanding in your heart so you will know the hope to which he has called us…”
Ephesians 1:18

Verdant Days of Summer
40x50 | Oil on Canvas | Framed

…to finally see hope in the aftermath of Helene’s destruction. Things are beginning to be cleaned up and all the lush green foliage has emerged. A glimmer of hope in the midst of darkness…oh that our hearts would remember..

“hold onto the HOPE to which you have been called.”
Ephesians 1:18

“Hope is never lost because Hope Himself never loses track of you. God is the One who keeps asking the Edenic query, Ayekah (Hebrew) Where Are You? Hope is always the one constant you can count on because you can count on Jesus constantly with you. Hineni (Hebrew) Here I Am.”
Ann Voskamp, Waymaker