My husband Jordan and I are in the midst of choosing a name for our firstborn. We have chosen not to find out the baby's sex, so while we have a girl name locked in, we continue to deliberate on a boy name and, subsequently, (a) middle name(s).  The baby will be here sometime in November if they keep cookin' as they should, so we still have some time... but this is a serious...

thirty:lessons&years being a leader often means being alone.   it’s important to lead by example; words alone aren’t very convincing. (thx:ma/pa.) hope can be lost, held in waiting, regained and rebuilt.  the best laughter has a tell: your knees buckle. falling in love is by another name is simply finding ‘home’. pain is a teacher — it will change your {physical,...

WHEN THE TEARS FALL -- Tim Hughes Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkdKJqQkYeo I've had questions without answers; I've known sorrow, I have known pain. But there's one thing that I'll cling to You are faithful, Jesus, You're true. When hope is lost, I'll call you Saviour When pain surrounds, I'll call you Healer When silence falls, You'll be the song within...

When I started this blog in 2009, it was in some of my loneliest days of living far from dear friends and within a time that I was learning what it meant to sing praises even when I felt too low to smile. I named it 'Off With Your Sandals' because it was for times when I needed to come in close and listen closely to what God was telling me about Himself, about how He loves us...

habit of awareness / pt 2 hope. i have seen great beauty come from barren ground that no one could imagine would yield fruit. today i believe that God is active, despite what i experience as waiting. and as i wait... i believe that, as image-bearers of Christ, i am called to be an agent of reconciliation despite being in a world that teaches us to isolate, fortify, and move on...

In an effort to "listen to my life" in this season of discernment, I want to build a habit of awareness. To process parts of my journey, I am naming some of the pieces of my life that have shaped my heart and spirit.  With this awareness, I hope to find a way forward into what my heart's desire is -- so that I can pursue what's next with confidence that I was prepared...

"Let each person lead the life that the LORD has assigned to Him." -- 1 Corinthians 7:17 In the past few months I've been thinking about what is assigned for me to do. As some of you know, I had the privilege of working with some of my favourite people in the world over the past couple years. In the fall, I stepped away from my role working with youth who have been removed from...