I've been changing costumes my whole life, but true transformation required dropping the act. Here's how I learned the difference between performing and being real.
Faith & Mental Health
From Dating Marathon to Instant Family: When Love Changes Everything
After a decade of dating disappointments, I found love that felt like home from day one. Here's how meeting Tony and his daughter transformed my writing, my heart, and my future.
The Summer I Found God at the Beach with My Ukulele
While everyone else went back to school, I kept chasing sunsets at Fort Monroe. Here's what happened when I stopped letting summer end on everyone else's schedule.
The Day I Stopped Begging God for Forever: Learning to Love What’s Temporary
I spent years demanding permanent love until my ukulele taught me something radical: not all good things are meant to last forever. Some are meant to be gifts for right now.
How My Ukulele Became My Church at the Beach
Six weeks with Summer Sarah, my ukulele, and I feel complete. God meets me at Fort Monroe every sunset, and now He's sending strangers who stop to listen to my songs.
Getting Right with God: A Beach Encounter That Changed Everything
A mysterious man named Ray at Fort Monroe Beach asked me a simple question that cut straight to my heart: "You want a husband? Then you need to get right with God." Here's how that encounter became a prayer.
Finding Peace in Uncertain Times: When Home Feels Far Away
Homelessness taught me that peace isn't about where you sleep—it's about what you carry inside. Here's how I learned to find rest even when everything felt unstable.
Purging the Past to Prepare for the Future: Moving Forward Light
On my last night in South Carolina before moving back to Virginia, Mama Sue helped me pack and gave me wisdom: 'You're purging the past to prepare for the future.' Here's why I'm packing light.
Summer Shift: When Teacher Becomes Storyteller
On Friday, I woke up a teacher for the last time in the foreseeable future. My classroom is now boxed in my carport storage, an easy fit. The question was what to do with my rolling teacher desk. My principal called it the Cadillac of carts, I called it my classroom on wheels, and my students called it fidget toy one-stop-shopping. I unpacked it in the carport, put the screws back in, looked around at the sea of green and blue country, heard the birds, felt the breeze, and realized I’d unlocked the greatest writing real estate.
What the Botanical Gardens Taught Me About Leaving Teaching
Walking among mountain laurels with my adopted South Carolina mom, I discovered I might be a hybrid tea rose—capable of blooming two different ways. Here's what garden wisdom taught me about career courage.
Writer's Growth 