Welcome to my monthly newsletter, Hardship & Harvest. This is where I share more about the hardships I'm facing and the good fruit I'm harvesting. I'm here to encourage you to sow and bear good fruit even when life is hard. If you're new here, welcome!

Hello Reader,

I’m writing this newsletter from my couch, under the weather with flu-like symptoms. I feel that I’ve been sick more often than not lately. Being sick is often a test of faith; it’s hard to remain obedient to what God has called us to in the middle of sickness. Sometimes obedience in sickness is just to rest (which I’ve done plenty of the last few days), but other times it’s continuing making progress, even if it’s slow progress.

I’m remaining faithful by writing you this newsletter today because I know that this is an act of obedience to encourage you all in your faith journey.

I’m remaining obedient by continuing to teach Wesley new things and parent him in ways that help him to grow, even though it’s hard to do so from a place of sickness.

I’m remaining faithful by continuing to write content, even if it’s shorter form than I’m used to.

I write this newsletter is so you can see how the hardships you’re facing are not the end of the line. You can still bear good fruit when life is hard. You can walk in obedience when life seems barren and unyielding. I want you to be able to see that through the hardships that you’re facing, there is still good fruit and there is still a harvest that will be boundless even if you don’t see it right now.

How are you remaining obedient to what God has called you to, even when it’s hard?

How are you continuing to believe that the Lord is good even when your circumstances aren’t?

my hardship

This month’s hardship has left me weary: continued trials with certain aspects of my job, questions about my calling, motherhood challenges, and this current sickness. While I’m experiencing hardship in these ways, I’m finding that I’m still able to have peace (most of the time). I know that the Lord has given me these specific trials to grow me in some way. It gives me peace to lean into that knowledge, and it’s moving from my head to my heart.

Even in the hardship that I’ve been facing over the last month, I have never once doubted that the Lord was with me in the middle of it. We serve a God who is with us in the good times and bad times, on the mountain top and in the valley. He doesn’t leave us or forsake us when we are going through hardship; no—he sticks with us even as thorns threaten to ruin the fruit we’re bearing. He is faithful in every circumstance, and I’m learning that in the middle of the trials that I’m facing in this season.

my harvest

I had the opportunity to lead our communion time at church this past Sunday, and it was such a privilege to talk about perspective and remind our church family that God’s perspective is higher than ours. A huge part of my faith journey over these last few years has been the challenge to shift my perspective when life is hard. Being able to view trials as opportunities to grow has continued to shape my life. It’s definitely a harvest I’m experiencing, as I’ve sown these seeds for years. It’s a testimony of faithfulness and obedience.

This weekend, I have the opportunity to attend a spiritual retreat as an intercessor. When I attended this retreat as a participant (I wrote about it here), it was an influential experience for me, and I’m honored to be able to attend and pray over the participants and facilitators over the weekend. While sickness is currently threatening this, I’m hopeful that I’ll feel well enough to attend.

Most of all, I'm seeing good fruit in the spaces where I'm most weak and left wanting. The Lord has been faithful to show me his strength in those places, drawing me nearer to him in this season.

a big announcement....

Introducing the Hardship & Harvest podcast!

Hardship & Harvest is a podcast about looking for goodness and pursuing fruitfulness in the midst of trials. We’ll explore how we can lean into the difficult parts of life, finding beauty in unexpected places and experiencing the goodness of the Lord in hard seasons.

Some topics I’ll cover include: pursuing fruitfulness right where we are, debunking misconceptions on trials, finding goodness in heartache, and the power of perspective. This podcast will start with mostly solo episodes by yours truly, but I hope to have some guests join me too.

The trailer episode goes live on March 6th, and the first episode goes live on April 3rd.

You can follow along on Instagram @hardshipandharvest.

words for your journey

1. I created a quiz to help you discover what is holding you back from experiencing peace and embracing life in the struggle you're facing today. You can take it here.
2. I loved this article by Audrey Sampson on Ann Voskamp's website: How Do You & Your People Process Feelings Around Loss & Feeling Brokenhearted​
3. My friend Alicia wrote this article for (in)courage that I think you'll love and potentially resonate with: When Winter Outstays Its Welcome​

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Talk to you soon,

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