Grateful Glory Sheep

I despise sheep. Sheep drown and don’t think twice about it, simply dying without help. Defenseless, they frighten easily, and get lost with a turn of their head, not knowing their right from their left.  I don’t want to be a sheep, one of hundreds in a flock, who could keel over at any moment, and no one would know. I want to be known and loved; and I am, God taught me this while cruising in my green car one spring day.

As I twist through the tiny roads of rural Germany, images of brainless sheep dying in absurd ways plays on repeat in my mind. Heart attack. Drowning. Attacked by wolves. Suffocating from my own wool. Not being able to explore the world, and stuck in one place? Feels like quicksand to my soul.

As the canola fields pass by, I imagine myself, surrounded by coarse wooden boards of high fence. Claustrophobia sinking in as the fresh air of the field, is just outside my reach. No room for twirling, comfort, or joy.  As blood rushes through my ears all I can hear is, ‘’This is your allotted green space’, and I sob. I’m an emotional creature. I’ve come to terms with it. “I GUESS I AM A SHEEP” I choke out, my eyeliner becoming a smokey eye as I wipe away my tears.

My car windows open to the wind, carrying my laments to God: ‘I don’t want to be a sheep! Couldn’t I be a unicorn, or a peacock? Heck, I’d even take a meerkat, at least their fur isn’t the color of sadness.’ I’d be lying if I said no one has ever accused me of being dramatic…

In that moment, Psalm 23  echoed in my mind, ‘The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

The tiny fencing fell away, and the wind rushed through my hair, I had a pastures to be in by the grace of God, not just one field.  I had created limitations for myself, when God had hand crafted us for freedom.

Humming ‘Wide Open Spaces’ to myself, as sun drenched field me spun, digging my toes into the rich grass, overwhelming joy welling within.  Gentle laughter trickles in, “Aj, not the pasture...this”:  As golden light pours into my car, I crested a hill.  I hear a whisper on the wind, ‘My love, look out the window. All of this is your field, the whole world I gave to all of you; my image bearers, to take care of. To thrive in. To nurture each other. To share my glory and explore`` Luke 12:32 reminds us, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’. His. Good. Pleasure.

The fields glimmering gold, sparkling in the sunset light, igniting in His presence. In the Bible God’s glory is in his presence, it has a weight to it. A layer of majesty you can soak in. My soul needs to soak.

Pulling over, with the rocks and dust from the side of the road pressing into my bare feet, I place my palms up, head back and stand in the Spirit’s presence. Gratitude and relief wash over me, as I realize we are sheep called to graze in God’s glory, not just meander through the hills of life

Germany’s golden hour; tinged with possibility and hope. I had imagined God wanted me to be a quiet sheep, bumbling about, living half lives in tiny spots. It’s simply not true. What is momentous is having a shepherd, Emmanuel, here with us. Guiding us. Desiring us to enrich the earth and share the love of God. Instead of fencing-focused: being I AM-focused .

On occasion I may still be a brainless sheep, AND I am also a glory sheep. Here to spread and soak in God’s glory, to help others look up past the false fences we construct. Anytime I feel trapped, I practice gratitude, and remember this expansive world He gave to us. May I be someone that sees and shares that God is here with us, wanting to cultivate side by side in creating a world full of justice, mercy, and grace.  

May New Moon Renewal

New Moon Renewal: A 20 minute personal retreat made just for you

Do you ever feel like your drowning? Tossing back and forth in the waves of your menstrual cycle? Riding the high waves when you ovulate can be jarring when you crash down two weeks later as your progesterone starts to rise. Caught by surprise, a period, can leave you bemoaning your womb. Begging to brush off all duties, and throw everything either in the trash, or at least out of sight. ‘Why even try?’ you ask yourself, ‘I’m a mess.’  

Deciding you don’t have any choice but to push forward, you proceed to do just as much bleeding as you do during the rest of your cycle. Except with the lovely additions of stress, guilt, frustration, and a dash of good old fashioned frazzleness.

Girl, you need a minute to breathe. You’re in the right place.

This stage of your cycle does not have to be a mad dash to the other side each month. Yes, you are bleeding. However, you also have a higher intuition during this time, a sense of what is dissonant in your life. If you are willing to tune in, and use this time for rest, your body can recuperate from the speed of life. Letting you emerge from your period recharged, and with a new vision.

How does this work? Through a New Moon Renewal. Think of this as your personal retreat to pause and center in to how you are actually doing. An average woman’s cycle is 28 days, just like the average moon cycle. Historically new moons have been linked to a woman’s period. Whether or not your period lands on the new moon, doesn’t matter for these renewals. This is for the new moon each month in your life. Where you need a little light, a slight pause. To bathe in the stillness, and remember who you are. You can do the renewal below whether or not you are bleeding, and regardless of your beliefs.

First, set the mood: During this time of rest, what is your intention? Time alone? Time to check in with yourself? Learn something new? Turn your phone on silent, or on vibrate. If you can, leave it in another room entirely.  Light incense or a favorite candle. Wear clothes that make you feel at home in your body. Set aside 20 minutes to focus on your personal retreat. Find a journal, some markers or crayons, and a favorite pen! Maybe it’s a sparkle gel pen like you had in 7th grade, or a skinny marker, because why not. Let’s all live our best lives.

Centering: Take a couple of minutes to sit in quiet. Quiet spa music can also help set the tone. Check in with yourself. How does your body feel? Try to breathe from your stomach instead of your chest. By placing your hands on your womb space it is easier to know when you are breathing deeply, as your hands will move with your breath. Any thoughts that come into your mind, acknowledge them and let them pass. Refocusing on your breath.

When you feel centered in your body you can read on:

Question to mull: What are a few words to describe your relationship with your cycle? What do you call your time of the month? Has what you call it that changed throughout your life?

Quote to savor:“The movements of the cycle are like the breath catching like the snagging of threads in a garment. A sudden shift in gear, a cloud scuttling across the sun, a small irritation, a distraction. Quiet, subtle, demanding your attention. Tripping you into different realities, perspectives and understandings. Breaking the mold of the cultural mind set. Stopping you from becoming an endless doing machine. Reminding you of yourself and making you sensitive to the world -Alexandra Pope

Journal: How does this quote make you feel?

Read it again and make a list, writing down the phrases that peak your attention while reading it. Once you have these phrases, for each phrase, ask yourself: what feels like this in your life? Is it something you long for? Is it something you feel is currently happening? It could be a good or bad thing, write it all down. Don’t judge what comes up, bring grace and awareness to what you put on the paper. Maybe scuttling across the sun struck a chord. For me, that feels like resting in my hammock and also doing so much busy work that I’m not productive, and I simply burn out, as if I’m squinting in the bright sun.

Creative Endeavor: Draw a stick figure of yourself, approximately a little smaller than the size of your hand. About half your page. If you would like to draw a more elaborate person you can, but keep it simple. With those bits of the quote, draw onto or nearby your person the things that you feel. Perhaps in the example I gave above where the sun feels like rest in my hammock, I draw sun rays on my face, and also jagged lines coming towards my eyes. Draw each piece of quote onto your person, in a visual way.

Journal: When you are finished with your person. Take an honest look at them. How do they look to you? How does this feel? What do you want to change? If your best friend looked at this drawing, what would they say to you? What are some action steps you could take to shift something in your drawing?

Pick one of those action steps to implement this upcoming cycle. Maybe it’s adding 5 minutes to read in the sunlight, or to remembering to say no next time you are asked to volunteer, because you can’t this month, and you can see that you are overloaded.

Closing: Our cycles have us constantly changing throughout the months and years. Don’t hold yourself to a linear fashion because you feel that’s how you have to be. Start keeping track in your journal or your planner. The days you bleed, days you feel low, or high, and you’ll be able to see when the tide is rising. It is okay to take a step back and check in with how you feel, and adjust course.

Each month we’ll release a New Moon Renewal for you to discover something new about yourself, learn about your cycle, and take a moment to pause, breathe, and reflect.

To being laced with grace, and radiant in moonlight,

Aj

“Epilogue”, Wild Genie:The Healing Power of Menstruation, by Alexandra Pope, 2nd ed., New Generation Publishing, 2014, pp. 190.

Favorite Non-Fiction books I read in 2018

Good morning lovelies!

 One of my favorite things at the end of the year is going over all the books I read and seeing what I liked and disliked. I enjoy seeing the books others recommend and thought I’d share with you some of the books from my list this year that I think are worth checking out. I did a lot of reading this year in how to love well, show up, use my voice, and how being a woman in faith looks. Let me know if you read any of these and what you think! I’m also always down for recommendations, my goodreads account is brimming to overflowing with them!

Top 10 Non Fiction, Top 5 are I believe must reads.

1. Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: This was recommended to me by my best friend, as a way to cultivate your creative self. I am already a creative person, but this helped me peel back layers of dreams, ideas, and how to set up my day for intentional growth and feeding my inner artist. The biggest takeaways were Morning Pages and Artist Dates. I did it I September, it’s a 12 week workbook, and planning on doing part two this month. I’ve already given away about four copies. You won’t regret this, but you have to follow through to the end.

2. Dare to Lead by Dr. Brené Brown: This is a more technical book from the ones she has written before but it blew me away. To be honest, I had to take my time with this, every page has a new thing to learn, or way to interact with those around you. If you find yourself in a leadership position or ever talking with humans this book is a great read. If you want a more accessible book, check out Rising Strong, or Braving the Wilderness both books that also had me crying and learning new tools in vulnerablility, communication, and understanding. I cannot recommend her work enough, read at least one of her books she has written in the last six years and you will come out the otherside a more well rounded aware person.

3. Love Does by Bob Goff: Wow, talk about expansive love that is outrageous at times but makes you smile and wonder how you are loving and showing up for those around you. Where is the whimsy and wonder in your life? Stories intertwined with God’s love for us, this is a fun engaging read that will make you laugh and cry and wonder how you can bring more light to the world around you.

4. 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C. Maxwell: This was recommended by Rachel and Dave Hollis, I listened to it on audio book but eventually I need to get myself a hard backed version of this, because as I was listening I’d pull out my phone and take notes. Don’t rent from the library, you’re going to want to highlight and tab. Great and useful hands on tips for taking a hold of your life and listening and paying attention to where God wants to take it, and how to utilize yourself to the best of your capabilities. Accessible wherever you are at in your life, or faith as long as this is something you want to learn, because he does get in depth.

5. Girl Wash your Face by Rachel Hollis: I feel like this has been one of the most talked about books of the year. But I thought it lived up to it’s potential. The book is laid out in lies we believe and the truths we need to know, mixed with her stories, it’s a great gut check of a book of what are you doing, why, and how are you using your time to do that. I also audio booked this, and bought the hard back shortly after to pass around our Red Tent. Her facebook and instagram are also chock full of good ideas, and inspiration to get your goals done.

6. Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker: If you don’t want to ask God hard questions, pry don’t open this book. A deep searching of how we as a church can be missing the point, but especially us as solo Christ followers, and how our individual lives look. This follows her journey, but gives you space, and encouragement to seek God out in new and deeper waves. This one hit me in my core. I also audio booked this one.

7. Raise your Voice by Kathy Khang: I have a feeling we will be seeing and hearing more from Kathy in the next few years. This book opens your eyes to not only how you speak up in the world but how you use your voice. As a Korean-American she shares her experience of how her voice has been heard and silenced throughout the years and her work in reclaiming it and our role to play in making sure those who don’t have voices that are often heard can speak up. There are questions at the end of each chapter, I audio booked it, so I missed many of the questions, so rent this one from your library so you can dig deeper!

8. I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a world made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown: With everything currently happening in our landscape I have been more focused on listening to those I might miss. This book highlights some of the major racial injustices currently happening, and how the past is rippling through our world today. It’s a hard read, but it is good. SO so good. I book read it, but I think it would be equally good in an audio book form. Prepare for your heart to be touched and changed.

9. Seven by Jen Hatmaker:  I listened to the audio book with my husband on a road trip, and he loved it as much as me. This book goes through her journey of eliminating excess and refocusing on God. Instead of making you feel guilty, this book brings awareness on how you can use what you have to better serve God, and that stripping down the things you own, and how large our lives can be as Americans, we can lose sight of the real life going around us. She goes through 7 categories, Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. It’s eye opening, and worth the listen.

10. Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans:
A really great book if you are wrestling with faith, or the church and want to hear someone else's honest story. Helpful to know that your frustrations with your own doubts, or questions are not the only ones. Beautiful and a salve for the soul. I read it, but it would be an easy audio book to listen to while you work or drive.

Non-Fiction Books I also enjoyed in 2018:

Out of Sorts by Sarah Bessey

The Turquoise Table by Kristin Shell

Everybody Always by Bob Goff

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor

When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd

A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian D. McLaren

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you read any of these, or have plans to! I always love talking about books, and diving into good ones! What are your book goals for 2019! I’m aiming for 45! We’ll see!

Sing your soul song lovelies,

Aj

The Encouragement PB&J

             One of my favorite things is encouraging people. Growing up, my dad always told me to speak life into other people. People are like flowers, if you water them, give them some light, they’ll bloom and flourish. If you neglect them, the opposite can happen.  If you look around today there’s a lack of encouragement and kindness online, and even in our day to day culture. A week ago, I posted a video about Encouragement and an easy way to remember how to do so daily with an Acronym of PB&J. Possibilities, Beauty and a Job well done! In making it accessible to all, I put it in a blog post, with ways you can implement these concepts. My hope in you learning about PB&J is that you will go out into your neighborhood and world, and bring a little more hope, joy, and kindness to those you meet.

Possibilities:

-Seeing a friend’s possibility in an idea: If you have a friend who has a new idea, speak life into it. Maybe she wants to try sculpting clay! Worst that happens: she buys clay, and it doesn’t turn out the way she’d like and she doesn’t do it again. Maybe, though, she discovers a joy in working with clay. Often times people wet blanket themselves with talking themselves out of trying something new, for fear of sounding stupid, or looking out of place. Don’t be their wet blanket, ask why they are interested in it. Ask what do they hope to get out of it? We lose some of our sense of play as we get older, we could use a little in our lives. Encourage play when you see it!

-Someone going out on a limb: If someone says something that hits the spot, maybe they give you a word, or message you at the moment where you were wondering if anyone even realized you didn’t show up that night, let them know. They might be on a ledge themselves and are venturing out in messaging you, or saying something to you. Encouragement can have ripple effects. If a friend goes out of their way to help you, be grateful, help them know that it was appreciated. Do not take people for granted.

-Your own ideas: Often times we are quick to build up other people, “Yeah! Start that business, Yes! Go lift and get fit, Yes! You would be amazing as a foster mom!” But we tear down our own ideas. I saw a video that had two women write down all the things they said to themselves throughout the day, then they had to say those things to their best friend sitting across from them. No one made it through the exercise without sobbing and saying, ‘I don’t believe those things about you’. So why do we believe them about ourselves? We can’t follow every idea, but we can buy a sketch book, and do one drawing a week, or go volunteer at the homeless shelter, or take one small step towards your idea. Talk to yourself like you talk to your best friend. Don’t entertain your enemies thoughts towards yourself.

Beauty:

                -This can be the obvious things of someone who is wearing some fun colors, or has confidence, or is flashy. But take time to also compliment people on their kindness, their generosity, on their deep hugs, or the way they SEE you. Beauty comes in all forms; sometimes it’s sparkle jackets, and sometimes it’s someone taking thirty minutes to sit with you in their home over coffee to hear your story. Let beauty surprise you, and wrap you in a hug. Soak in it, like you’d soak in a bubble bath.

                -We often see beauty outside, in a rainstorm, a rainbow, or a wonderful view of the ocean, or the way the wind caresses a field of wheat. Take a sacred moment when you see it. Put your palms up, close your eyes, relax your shoulders and take it in. In our go-go-go world we can go so quickly we forget to breathe in these wondrous moments that are glorious. This should be obvious: but don’t do this if you are driving. Instead put on the Jurassic Park soundtrack and enjoy and keep driving.

                -Be grateful for the beauty in your life, I am currently doing the #Last90Days with Rachel Hollis, and each day we write down 10 things we are grateful for in that specific day. It’s a beautiful way to cultivate gratitude for the small beautiful things in your day. Maybe someone smiled at you at work, your husband did the dishes, you got in and crushed that workout, or you saw a butterfly. Paying attention to beauty, helps you see it more often when it pops up in your life.

Job Well Done:

                -People work hard. There are many jobs that go without thanks, but are integral in running our society. Our garbage men, the people who clean the bathrooms, mail folk, ladies at the cash register. All these and more go to do the best they can with what they are able to. Build them up, say thank you and mean it, look them in the eyes. People aren’t machines, and we can’t treat them as such. Use empathy as much as possible.

                -When you asked someone to do it, and they did: I know that when I clean the kitchen and my husband comments on it, I am more likely and more excited to clean it the next day, (although if I had a self-cleaning kitchen I’d be about that life in a heartbeat). Thanking and appreciating someone for something you asked them to do doesn’t demean their work, or negate that you asked. It means you noticed. Say thank you, because they followed through. Building that follow through muscle comes from practice, time, and encouragement.

             PB&J is easy to remember, and simple in practice of it, these are just three ways to encourage those around you, although there are many more. While you do PB&J, Possibilities, Beauty and Job Well Done, don’t forget to do this for yourself as well. When you show up for work, give yourself some appreciation, when you get out of bed, you are facing the day, when you go work out, you are taking care of your body. Tell yourself thank you for showing up for your life and putting in the work. As you give encouragement to those around you, you’ll see more beauty and will live a life more aware of the possibilities around you.

Love God, Love People, Change the World,

And as always Sing your Soul Song Lovelies,

Aj

On Being Perfect vs. Showing Up

Lovelies,
Last night we had a Red Tent, as we do every month on or near the new moon. It's always an evening of surprises, laughter, tears, and some deep thinking and self check in. Our theme was Becoming and in this Christmas and holiday season we become doers, buyers, shoppers, busier, (all the -er's). But how often do we allow ourselves to just be? I know I don't, or I relax and tell myself it's chill time, and then I watch 3 episodes of the Mentalist and realized I haven't done anything productive for God, me, or my home, and my pups need to go outside (into the cold....whyyyyyyy?).

When we talked last night about Becoming in the tent, we visualized what we were becoming , the woman we are unfurling into . Not that the place we're in now is wrong (unless you're currently driving the wrong way down a one way street, then you should really turn around before you get a ticket), but that there are possibilities to morph into. That you have paths before you that you constantly make choices on. Feeding into this is your dedication (or lack there of, it's not my fault Patrick Jane is all at once smart, witty and gorgeous and I need to find out if him and Lisbon end up together), willingness to grow, and grace. It comes from knowing that life is going to be imperfect, but that it's still worth showing up for, and bathing in some grace for.

Story Time: Elissa and I worked together to put last night's tent together, and we had an activity where the women would step forward and claim what they were becoming, we'd repeat back to them, We see you, we see you becoming ______. We'd all be dressed amazingly, it would snow indoors, and we'd have the magical hanging candles from Hogwarts on the ceiling (no matter that they are CGI, it's magical and important). (Totally reasonable expectations) It would be flawless.
Well, we forgot that adjectives and nouns need different endings, for me, my word was embodied, so we were going to share the word we'd all say in response to change an -ing to an -er or put 'more' in front of it, but in the heat of the moment we forgot, so it became 'becoming more embodied(er), 'strength', became stronger, health, became healther, and we just added -er's to everything. All of us cracking up, and this moment of strength and power and flawlessness became filled with laughter and and grammer groaning. Perfectly imperfect. We showed up none the less, and it was still magical.

In high school I was a pageant girl, and I loved it, the dresses, the fun, the makeup, the heels. A part I took from it as well was to make sure everything looks perfect, your nails, no wrinkles, swimsuit glue, just the right bracelet. I learned so much about presence, and owning your space as well, but sometimes I let the perfection win out.
In my mind: If I can't cook a whole meal every evening of the week, why make one? If I can't run a mile, why run 5 laps? I haven't written a post in my new Laced with Grace Wombanhood page in a month, why should I now? Trying to be/do it all almost becomes a comparison of who I am to who I could have possibly been at this moment, but aren't because I slacked on choices last week, last month, or even two minutes ago (there's no going back, the wine is poured).

Baby bald me saying yeah! Show up! You've got this! Honestly,I didn't say this then, because babies can't speak full sentences. But I'm rooting for you! 

This is where the grace comes in.  It's so easy to think, 'I could have gotten so much done this morning to prep for Christmas', and then call the rest of the day a wash because what's the point, instead of pausing and realizing you can make a different choice now, in this moment. Instead of another 30 minutes scrolling through pinterest (it's my fav, no lies), take 30 minutes to read that book you've had set aside, or put the timer on for 10 minutes to wipe down the counters and put the pot away from making soup the night before (there's totally not a pot on my counter at the moment....). A willingness to grow and do something different is all it takes to become who you want to be and create a ripple effect for change.

Same goes for taking time to dedicate to God; feels like it needs to be perfect, the dogs can't bark, I need to be wearing a perfectly comfy outfit, the right worship music, and if it's not instagram worthy with a mug of hot chocolate next to my bible and colorful pens I just bought from amazon (yay capitalism!) it's not worth doing. This is honestly what I thought this morning, and then Jer and I had a nice little date for lunch and I came home to work on my goals (Power Sheets for the win) and after this, I'm gonna crack open my Bible and read a bit, and art journal whatever I learn for a bit. God just wants us to show up with willing hearts. He doesn't ask for perfection. Which is great, because I have a lot of skills,(dancing, glitter application, mermaid puns, encouragement) hint: perfection isn't one of them.

With God, Red Tents, and life, it's not about being perfect, but a willingness to show up, and to give ourselves grace to make it different, to grow and take steps. Even if it's 10 minutes to wipe down the counters. This is what I'm learning lately, and it's a warm balm for my soul.

To being Laced with Grace,
The Girl who only has 10 episodes left of the mentalist but is totally going to have Bible time before putting netflix back on, and clean that pot on the counter.

Laced with Grace Wombanhood Welcome Letter

Dear lovely one,
The first time I sat in a Red Tent, I was enthralled. There were four of us present and together we shared a night of songs, stories, and activities woven together with honesty and vulnerability about how we felt about being women. It was magical. One year later, and I am still enthralled. Red Tent  is a place of rest, and deep breaths. Not disregarding our wombs, but an acknowledgement of how we are created. Lacing each other in grace as we share stories: first bleeds, births, miscarriages, and life. Exploring what it means to be an embodied woman, together.

The past few years for me have been about delving into what it means to be a woman with a womb. Is it important? What happens down there, what use is having a cycle? Why do our hormones do crazy things? Why when women gather together does it either feel like coming home, or like a nightmare you don't want to repeat? How do we learn to be embodied women who treat their bodies like the temples that house our souls and the Holy Spirit, while also treating the women around us the same? These were my questions.

You see, I believe we have an amazing God, who stitched us together with more love, kindness, and wonder in his eyes than I can even fathom. I also believe He made women to be powerful beings of love, grace, and strength. And yet, if you’re anything like me, you have apologized for being a woman, probably more than you’ve apologized for anything else. You’ve said your piece, then backed down: blaming it on ‘those pesky PMS hormones’. You reach out, get hurt, and blame your stupid woman tears for embarrassing you. Discarding your opinion by saying ‘never mind’, or ‘it doesn’t matter’, thinking that your voice is less worthy of being heard. All because we have vaginas.

We’ve all been there; female, and frustrated.  Talked down to, ridiculed for being stupid or too smart, or told it’s a good thing we’re pretty. We feel guilty because we have it better than women on the other side of the world - meanwhile our sisters of color carry double this weight; we’re told to not be a distraction, draw too much attention to ourselves, or be too loud.  We can bleed anywhere from 3-9+ days a month, feeling like our uterus is raging a war on us. Endometriosis, miscarriage, and assaults can leave us with more questions than answers. We feel disembodied and disempowered, tired and angry, or our bodies seem angry and we can’t figure out why: if we dare ask questions, we’re told to cover it up, plug it up, pray about it, take pills for it, drink on it, stop being hysterical, and just “calm down.” (And really has that phrase ever made ANYONE calm down? I think not.)   

For so long, believing in God and talking about vaginas has felt like an either/or situation. Asking questions gets a hushed side eye, or a gasp. Discussing pleasure, or birth control leaves you feeling like a heretic, and yet here we are: spiritual beings in bodies that work on a cycle. There are truths, lessons and life to be learned and lived through not just our wombs, but our cycles and in our connections to things greater than us.

So this is my invitation to you, to set aside the lies, shame, the hand packed guilt. To come open minded about what it means to be a spirit led woman. We’ll do art, online red tents, and I’ll post here first about Soul Art, and in person retreats. I’m not going to preach at you, nor suggest you burn your bra; but being a daughter of God, and a woman who cycles, is who I am, and this space is what I bring to you as an offering. 

I’ll be diving in about what our bodies have to teach us; it’s possible I’ll say things you’ll disagree with, or maybe our beliefs don’t align. You are still welcome here. I know without a doubt in my heart that God has brought me to you in this moment.  Spirituality and Vulvas.  It’s a place that has felt like no-man’s land, but I’m letting you know we have a field here, to play in, to grow in, to dance in. Whether you have a womb, or your body no longer participates in hormonal cycles, this is a space for all of us.  A space To hear ‘me too’, to give grace instead of condemnation, to laugh and love and learn together. To lift each other up, instead of tear each other down. So pull up a cushion, pour a hot chocolate, invite a friend, and relax, it’ll be an adventure for sure.To join our online tribe you can find the facebook group Laced with Grace Wombanhood and request to join!

To Laced with Grace Wombanhood: Exploring what it means to be a spirit-led woman through Art, stories, and cycles.

Welcome to our Red Tent.