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: reality
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…
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….
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…
Don’t Throw It Away
If you are lucky enough to find love, remember that it is there. Hold it gently. Don’t throw it away. Love doesn’t usually arrive with certainty. It comes quietly. It settles into your life through small, ordinary moments—shared silence, familiar laughter, the comfort of being known without having to explain yourself. And because it arrives…
Where Is Christmas?
Every year, the question shows up again. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just a small wondering that drifts in sometime between the early decorations and the endless lists. Where is Christmas? The song asks it with innocence—almost like a child looking around a room that feels different than they expected. And maybe that’s why it stays…
Where Words Land
It’s a quiet ache many people carry but rarely talk about. You pour time, thought, and pieces of your heart into something you create — words, ideas, work that matters to you — and somehow, the people closest to your life are the last ones to notice. The last ones to read. The least likely…
Charina.Writes 