A Blessing for Going to the Water

If you need a reminder
of who you are
and whose you are,
go to a beach
and listen to the waves
lap over and over and over on the shore,
or go to a pond
or lake.

Simply sit yourself beside some water
close your eyes and breathe the air
tip your face to the sky
extend your hands
and reach forward.

Feel the pull of the water
rock your body to its rhythm
trust you are held
and made of this water
that first formed this world
and pulses through your body,
water that nourishes and creates
renews and remakes
and lives inside of you
calling you home
to yourself,
wholly known
wholly beloved.

// You can find this blessing and many more in my upcoming book Small Steps: Blessings to Lift Your Soul on the Pilgrimage of Life. Small Steps includes blessings and essays all based on the belief that each of us can offer words of goodness and hope to others. Pre-order today to get this book delivered to your doorstep on May 5th, 2026!

Preorder Small Steps

What I’m Reading

Love Like a Mother: How the Sacred Work of Motherhood Reveals the Maternal Heart of God by Elizabeth Berget. Liz and I both have books releasing on May 5th so we’ve been meeting over zoom to share (both ideas and the challenges and stress of launching a book!) Our writing shares a lot of the same themes and our life experiences have a lot of commonality. So if you are looking for a book to share with a mother in your life or are in need of seeing the expansive love of a mother God, check out Liz’s book!

Two recent thrillers that I enjoyed: Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston and The Housewarming by Kristin Offiler.

The current feel-good book we all need right now: This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. This is my book club’s pick for this month and it’s a book-lover’s dream of a book with so many literary references and delightful characters and such heart.

What I’m Reading with the Kids

• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. There’s a reason I haven’t read The Hobbit until now….but my son wanted to buddy read the book together. Each night we’d read in his bed and I know I’ll always look back fondly on the time reading with him. The story captivated Isaac and I am glad to have some reference points to The Lord of the Rings, but I did tell Isaac he’s on his own listening to the audiobooks for the rest of the series!

• A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga. This was our family book club pick and was such a great read to coincide with the launching of Artemis II. This story follows a fictional rover to Mars and his drone.

• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Charlotte, in fifth grade, read this book with her class. It was unfamiliar to me so I picked up a copy at the library and read it on my own. I really loved the voice of the characters and the humor throughout.

*We haven’t picked our next chapter book read-aloud (so many choices) so what would you recommend?

Thanks as always for being here! I’m grateful for readers who support my writing and encourage me in my work. I’ll be visiting a few congregations in the fall for speaking events and/or leading a women’s retreat. If you’re interested in having me come to your congregation, please reach out!

And if you’re in Cole Camp, MO on Friday, May 1st, please come and join me in celebrating the release of Small Steps! We’ll be at WAM from 5 - 8 pm where I’ll have books available for purchase and will do a reading around 6:30 pm.