Reading · Asheritah's Substack

Hi friend!

Have you ever had your stomach hit the floor? Panicked in the space of a millisecond?

Yeah, me too.

The headlines offer endless fodder for fear and countless opportunities to worry. In our personal lives, medical diagnoses, financial crises, and even interpersonal conflict at work can threaten to make our lives miserable.

Last month, I lost all my online work here. Every note, every newsletter, every devotional and delight I’d curated for our community—gone with a glitch.

In the grand scheme of things, a tech blackout isn’t a terminal diagnosis or a fatal accident. I knew that. And I was grateful for that. But this glitch happened mere days before launching our biggest project yet—a 21-day guided Bible study journey our team had been building for six months.

Gone. In the blink of an eye.

A crisis in our micro-universe.

I panicked. I DM’d support.
I argued with an infuriating AI bot.
I waited for a human agent from Substack to help me. No one showed up.

And then—eventually—I stepped away from the screen.

Sometimes the holiest thing we can do is stop refreshing the page.

I looked at the gray Ohio sky, cuddled with my kids, and warmed up by the fireplace.

I released what I couldn’t fix into the hands of God and did the next right thing. Started over with a simple hello, introducing myself again to Substack:

It felt like a blind act of faith.

And it makes me think of the blind man Jesus pauses to heal on the side of the road, mixing mud with His saliva, spreading it over his eyes, telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam (see John 9). I’ve thought of that story countless times this week. Jesus could have healed the man instantly. But He doesn’t.

Jesus invites the man to participate in his healing by trusting and obeying.

Imagine walking through crowded streets with mud on your eyes. The embarrassment. The questions. The steady, wholehearted trust in Jesus that kept him going:

“Go,” [Jesus] told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. (John 9:7 NIV)

You can’t substitute obeying with waiting. If the blind man had waited for the mud to work by the side of the road, he’d have died blind. It was his obedience to the Word of Jesus that made him whole.

Are you waiting for a miracle… while God is waiting for your yes?
What’s your next step? A relationship, a phone call, a decision He’s already made clear?

I cannot create world peace. I’m not in those rooms. You probably aren’t either. But we can each be peace-makers and beauty-bringers in the places God has placed us.

Going back to my meltdown moment… that simple “hello” reached farther than anything I’d written here before. I met people I wouldn’t have otherwise.

Launch day came, and we’d duck-taped together a workable solution. Even so, thousands of our readers never received the announcement.

So I practiced releasing this launch into God’s hands, doing what has been entrusted to us and trusting Him with the rest.

Literally casting my prayers on God as I’d drift off to sleep at 2am:

“…casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” (1 Peter 5:7 AMP)

Again and again.

Trust and obey.

Obey and trust.

Every time our team found another glitch, we’d work to fix it, and cast our cares on Him.

Dozens of people were praying, even though many didn’t know specifics. Thank you!

Eventually, we received an email from an actual human from Substack, who worked with me to fix the Substack glitch. (Hooray for humans! AI bots won’t take over the world, I’m convinced.)

My posts are back. My handle is restored. Hopefully these emails are showing up in your inbox and not your junk folder. (*fingers crossed*)

And I’ve made new friends here because of it.

The cliché says that God works in mysterious ways. But I don’t think that’s the whole story.

I think God invites us to work with Him through the chaos, to pray through what we fear, and to rest when our part is done. To trust and obey.

It’s a grace to know when to stop striving.

And He works all things for good—to make us more like Jesus, and reveal the glory of His goodness.

God doesn’t waste the disruptions.1
He rarely does.

And if you’re curious about the 21-day journey I mentioned above, I’d love for you to explore it.

Join over 100 women in Planted

Each month, we’ll share a resource to grow your friendship with Jesus—plus a sweet giveaway and one small rhythm to enjoy His Word.2

Have you ever wanted to highlight your Bible… but felt nervous about “ruining” it?

I used to hesitate too. What if I picked the wrong color? What if I misunderstood the verse?

But I’ve learned this: a Bible that’s marked up is a Bible that’s been loved.

In this month’s tutorial, I walk through my simple highlighting method — how I mark themes, promises, and prayers—using the Dayspring NLT Journaling Bible. Its wide margins and thoughtful layout make it easy to linger in the Word instead of rushing through it.

If you’ve been wanting to move from simply reading Scripture to responding to it, this is a gentle place to begin.

Thanks to our friends at Tyndale, we’re giving away three Dayspring NLT Journaling Bibles to our community this month.

Enter here!

We’ll draw three winners and announce their names in the video comments before our Bookshelf newsletter (mid-March).

Start small.

Choose one verse this week. Just one.
Circle a word that stands out.
Underline a promise.
Write a short prayer in the margin.

You don’t need a complicated system. You just need willingness.

This simple practice is actually how many women begin their journey in Planted: Starting Simply with God’s Word—learning to slow down, notice, and respond instead of rush.

If you’ve been craving a steadier rhythm with Jesus, that’s exactly what we build there.

Simple delights from our team to you.

For the first time, our family is attempting to snowbird in Florida for a couple months (yes, all crammed in our little blue travel trailer again). I’m loving all the family time we’re getting together, soaking up the Florida sunshine, meeting online friends and their families in real life, and stretching out these childhood years just a little longer. —Asheritah
I keep a helium tank at my house at all times because I love balloons so much. I always want to be ready to blow up a balloon bouquet if something needs celebrated. In the last few weeks when we were excited about something, my daughter suggested we blow up some balloons to take them with us. It brought such a smile to my face! —Hannah
I recorded a Focus on the Family radio interview about Delighting in Jesus… a year ago. And it’s finally live! Apparently, God works on a different release schedule than I do. Listen here! —Asheritah

A joy to be at Focus on the Family with Jim Daly and John Fuller, sharing the message of *Delighting in Jesus*

The sounds and signs of spring are beginning to arrive, and it brings a smile to my face every time! Between the birds chirping outside the window as I sit at my desk and the daffodil shoots pushing up through the dirt in the tiny garden bed, the small but sure hints of a season shifting is doing my soul good. Even though I'm a big fan of winter, I'm thankful for the reminder that God is really good at bringing new life and beauty to the places that seem dormant, forgotten, or empty. —Kaitlyn
This might sound frivolous, but shopping for swimsuits is on my list of least favorite things, so when I found one that I’m loving, I thought it’s worth sharing. This swimsuit looks cute & modest with a built-in skirt, flattering with a ruched waist, and doesn’t break the bank. I get so many compliments from other moms when I wear it, and I find I’m not thinking about my body but enjoying my kids at the waterpark, which is as it should be, right? —Asheritah3
During Lent, our family gathers around a Lenten wreath and follows Asheritah’s family devotions as a way to journey through this season together. I love this weekly rhythm—the quiet moments, the flicker of candlelight, the intentional pause at the start of a busy week. What I cherish most, though, is hearing my five-year-old daughter’s heartfelt responses to the question asked each week: “What do you want to say in response to Jesus?” Her simple, sincere answers remind me of the beauty of childlike faith and make this season all the more meaningful. 😊 —Kathryn
I’m looking forward to diving into Living Out A Life That Matters, an 8-week study through 2 Timothy that explores what it really means to live with eternal purpose. I love that it focuses on the kind of steady, quiet virtues Paul modeled for Timothy, the kind that shape not just our schedules, but our souls. —Asheritah

To God be the glory. 🙌🏼

Over 1,000,000 times someone has pressed play on The Prayers of REST podcast—choosing to pray in seasons both heavy and hopeful.

Small steps of obedience first. The miracle came years later.

Over a million times of choosing to slow down and pray to the One who is always, always listening. …I’m just amazed at what the Lord has done!

I launched this little podcast out of my closet in 2020, during the lockdown, as a simple act of obedience when the world felt like it was breaking. I had no idea how God would use it.

Sometimes we obey when it feels small.
And God multiplies what we place in His hands.

What a joy to have prayed with you over the years, friends! ✨

All 200+ episodes are still available whenever you need them–just search “Prayers of REST” wherever you listen to podcasts! And to reach a new, visual generation, our team is working to make many of these prayers available on YouTube in 2026. Our work is not finished.

If you are one (or more) of these million-plus prayers, thank you for praying with me. I’m honored and grateful you’re here.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now, and forevermore! Amen! (Jude 1:24-25) 💛

A simple rhythm for your home this Lent.

This month’s free resource comes from Uncovering the Love of Jesus—a book I wrote during a season of learning to slow down and pay attention to Christ’s steady, sacrificial love.

We’re sharing our Lent Family Devotional Guide to help you pause together, read a short Scripture, and respond to Jesus in simple, meaningful ways, like Kathryn mentioned above. It’s gentle. It’s doable. And it’s designed for real families with real schedules.

Download the Lent Family Devo Guide here

Want to go deeper? Explore Uncovering the Love of Jesus here (currently 44% off on Amazon) or read more about how our family uses it here.

💛 Let’s stay connected
Is there something in your life right now that feels like it “glitched”? I’d love to pray for you. Comment below and tell us one word for it. Then take a moment to pray for the comment above yours, and reply with a heart emoji of your favorite color to let them know you prayed.

💌 When Everything Glitched

Sometimes what first looks like loss actually makes room for what we didn’t know we need.

Occasionally we partner with brands we love. It helps keep these letters free for you. 😉

It crossed my mind to share a selfie in said swimsuit… but then I overthought it. Not sure I want that on the internet, you know?

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