We hear the word holiness and something in us stiffens. It sounds lofty. Untouchable. Like something meant for saints in stained glass, not people with tired hearts and complicated lives. Our church is beginning a series on holiness, and I found myself quietly asking—not out loud, but deep inside— What does holiness actually look like…
Tag: finding self
Komorebi
Light that reaches you only because something stands in the way. Beauty created by obstruction, not absence. I’ve been thinking about that kind of light lately—the kind that doesn’t arrive freely or fully, the kind that has to pass through branches, through resistance, through layers of things that slow it down. Komorebi is the Japanese…
Peace That Stays
静けさ Shizukesa A stillness that carries weight. Silence that feels inhabited. There is a kind of silence that isn’t empty. It doesn’t rush to be filled. It doesn’t ask for music, conversation, or explanation. It simply stays. not empty—just quiet This is not the silence of being ignored or forgotten. It’s not the awkward pause…
Ma: Where Meaning Lives
There is a kind of meaning that doesn’t announce itself. It doesn’t arrive with answers or explanations. It waits in the pause. In Japanese thought, ma speaks to that space—the silence, the gap, the breath between moments. Not as emptiness. Not as absence. But as presence. A presence we often rush past because it doesn’t…
The Words We Never Hear
I came across a post recently—just a few lines my nephew wrote for his spouse on their anniversary. It wasn’t long. It wasn’t dramatic. But it stopped me. The kind of words that name partnership, gratitude, and choice so plainly that they settle deep before you realize what’s happening. I found myself tearing up, not…
The Pages We Avoid
There are parts of the Bible we return to often—the familiar passages, the comforting words, the verses we already know how to quote when life feels heavy. And then there are other parts we quietly move past. Not because they lack truth. But because they ask us to slow down… and stay. Like Revelation, there…
Dear 2026
We’re stepping into you without a clean slate. We’re bringing unfinished conversations, tired hearts, quiet hopes, and lessons we didn’t ask to learn but learned anyway. Some of us are coming in stronger. Some softer. Some carrying grief so gently it almost looks like calm. Some still learning that healing doesn’t always need an explanation….
The Book We Quietly Skip
There’s a book at the end of the Bible that many of us don’t linger on. Not because it isn’t important—but because it’s unsettling. Revelation doesn’t let us stay comfortable. It doesn’t whisper reassurance without also asking for surrender. And maybe that’s why it’s often avoided. Not ignored completely—just quietly set aside. But Revelation was…
More Than a Tap
When was the last time we actually stayed with something? Not just noticed it. Not just reacted to it. But read it slowly. Let it linger. Let it sit with us for a moment longer than a scroll. We live in a world of instant responses. A heart. A thumbs-up. A quick tap that says…
Of The Same Root
“So God created mankind in His own image…” — Genesis 1:27 There’s a reason the Bible tells us what humanity was called, not just that humanity was created. Names mattered long before arguments did. In Genesis, the first human is called Adam. Not as a title of power—but as a reminder of origin. Adam comes…
Charina.Writes 