Never give up! Winston Churchill said this in one of his speeches in 1941. Dark days in history when war seemed to overshadow hope. Hope is hard to find for so many of us. Many are in seasons of absolute hopelessness. I rise in the morning to tell my soul I have another day to find hope. Another day to trust God, even if I don’t see or feel he cares about the daily, weekly struggles. That feeling that comes when you speak hope into your circumstance is sometimes, all we have. What were we given voices for? Were we to just communicate how to navigate through life or find a destination? I wonder if our voices were given more to tell our own souls to arise and find Wonder when Wonder is hard to find! I don’t know your story but I know mine and I must push through what doesn’t make sense and use my voice to find my way and praise God in the finding of it and in it being found. Be encouraged today that your voice matters most to your own soul!
“Not less we praise in darker days
The leader of our nation,
And Churchill’s name shall win acclaim
From each new generation.
For you have power in danger’s hour
Our freedom to defend, Sir!
Though long the fight we know that right
Will triumph in the end, Sir!”
I’ve always been emotional as a year ends. I tend to dwell on what the year didn’t bring. When a painful year of struggle ends, the hope is that the next year will heal the past one. If you are like me and you have had multiple painful years stacking one on top another, it’s hard to see the next year without some trembling. 12 months go by fast and I think the enemy loves to keep us in a place of deferred Hope instead of seeing 12 possible breakthrough-experiences! I came out of 2020 pushing, kicking and fighting. The last four years have been more of the same. I have had people say to me this year, “It looks like you’re reinventing yourself!” the podcast, the new record, have all been a way of pushing to get to the other side of this wilderness. It doesn’t help that what I do puts women in a retirement yard past a certain age. God doesn’t have an expiration date for any of our creativity. It is our choice to keep the flame burning. It has been hard and the payoff is never easy but there is an unseen strength when you keep your belief fresh and you don’t give up. This year I released a record that was the story the previous year was telling! It was the creative oxygen my soul needed.
In 2024 I didn’t see the healing I was praying for…but I had to learn how to breathe through it and still believe. I painfully had to let go of people who didn’t want to stick around and do the right thing…but learned that letting go feels less of a burden than holding on. I did not see provision like I was sure I would, but learned to trust God more with what I had. I learned how to live in a silent house when college started back up and he drove away again. I had to lay down a thousand other disappointments that tried desperately to block out any joy. I’m staring down 2025 with a sigh to let it just roll like dice. God is still the anchor in our boat and the one who controls the outcomes. So, with a fist shaking and an open hand I’ll release the dice and let them roll on the table. Maybe this year I’ll get double sixes and get to move 12 spaces! One for each month! ❤️ Happy New Year to those of us coming out of the wilderness!
We fear what we don’t understand…
But one of the most beautiful things we can do for people is stay curious instead of shutting down. Ask questions. Listen. Make room for honesty, even when the conversation feels uncomfortable.
Sometimes people don’t need perfect answers first, they just need to know it’s safe to talk.
And I think that kind of gentleness can change more than we realize.
⚠️ NEXT TUESDAY. Don’t sleep on this one.
Redbird Common x Women Who Worship is happening May 19th and the lineup is STACKED —
🎵 Clair Leslie
🎵 Melodie Malone (Passion Music)
🎵 Lauren Scott Barnes
🎵 Rita Springer
Pre-show on the patio at 6:30pm with live music + Just Love Coffee. Main show at 7:30pm. VIP doors at 6.
This is an intimate writers’ round — not a big venue, not a big crowd. When it sells out, it’s gone.
Tickets in bio or grab them now 👉 commonevents.org/redbirdcommon
#RedbirdCommon #WomenWhoWorship #FranklinTN #ChristianMusic
This part of the conversation with @jeffejohnson carried so much honesty and tenderness.
Not leading with labels. Not leading with shame. Just coming back to this simple truth - I’m a child of God.
And I think there’s something really powerful about that kind of surrender. Letting identity begin with Him before anything else.
Maybe that’s where healing and freedom actually start.
In this raw and deeply moving conversation, @jeffejohnson and @jourdanjohnson share their unconventional love story, Jeff’s journey with same sex attraction, and the pain of navigating these realities within the church.
Together, they open up about grief, identity, marriage, and the ways the church has often failed to create space for honest conversations around sexuality and suffering.
If you’ve ever wrestled with shame, belonging, or holding pain and hope at the same time, this episode is for you.
Watch the full episode this Wednesday at 10am CT.
I didn’t get to be a Mom the way many do. I felt like I was waiting for a breakthrough and then he was there. Not many moms have to make sure they are certified healthy, line up outlets and have fire escapes on upper balcony’s in order to be cleared to adopt. I had to prepare in ways I would have never had to had I given birth to him. I remember thinking that unfair at the time. I heard God tell me that he’d gone to prepare a place for me the least I could do was check off government boxes to be entitled to hold him. Some would say it’s not natural but it sure was spiritual. I did for him, what God had done for me. That was never lost on me. There were moments that “grafted in”came so alive I had to remember I didn’t house him internally for 9 months. He made me a better mom that way. I fought for him in ways I didn’t know I needed the fight. The rewards are endless. I don’t get big gifts cuz he’s still broke, but I get songs he writes and those are priceless! I don’t need breakfast in bed and diamonds. I just need to sit and stare at his beautiful face and be near the kindest human I’ve ever met! I’m so grateful to be his mom. It’s more than enough. I am blessed he made me one! ❤️ Happy Mothers Day to every adopted mom out there who knows exactly what I’m saying! ❤️❤️🥰
When two people are both driven, both called, both creative — it can quietly turn competitive if you’re not careful. And that kind of dynamic never really works.
It only works when you choose to support each other.
That kind of unity changes everything.
There’s this narrative for women in worship… that there’s an expiration date.
And if I’m honest, I’ve felt that tension too.
But I loved this shift — what if instead of fighting to stay relevant, you just ask God what He wants to do now? There’s a freedom in that… and honestly, a deeper creativity too.
The spotlight will always test your heart.
No matter who you are - pastor, worship leader, artist - there’s something in us that likes it. Even when it’s for God.
And if we’re not careful, we start measuring moments by response instead of obedience.
I’m learning it’s not about pretending that pull isn’t there, it’s about laying it down, again and again.
That’s the real work behind the platform.
