A reader asked if I would write more about grief. What unfolded over the course of our private exchanges was one of the most layered grief stories I have encountered – not because her experience is unusual, but because it is far more common than anyone talks about. This post is for her. And I suspect it is for more of you than any one of us might realize.
Tag Archives: surrender
Verse & Vision | May 23, 2026
There is a version of self-sacrifice that looks like the cross but isn’t. It gives and gives and gives, not from the overflow of a full and grounded soul, but from the hollow place of someone who has confused loving others with losing themselves.
Today’s passage does not call us to that. It calls us to something harder and more clarifying: the mindset of Christ, who emptied himself with full intention, for a defined purpose, in submission to the Father’s will – not in compliance with someone else’s desire for him.
Being true to yourself, in the way God means it, is not selfishness. It means honoring the soul God placed in you, protecting the purpose he put you here for, and refusing to sacrifice what is sacred on the altar of someone else’s comfort or convenience.
Self-surrender to God first, and then, from that grounded place, genuine love for others that actually does them good.
Root → Rupture → Rest: What Striving Couldn’t Do | Daily Bread
I had nothing left to offer. No performance. No effort. Just the raw and quiet reality of a woman too tired to try anymore. And that is exactly where God met me. I thought I knew and loved stillness before that moment, but in that stillness, something began to change that all my years of striving and even meditation had never touched. I was not led away from my faith. I was led through the fog of it, until I could see it clearly for the first time.
The Battle Within, The Rest Beyond | Spiritual Foundations for Healing
Healing is hard because it is a constant battle between your inner child, who is scared and just wants safety; your inner teenager, who is angry and just wants justice; and your current self, who is tired and just wants peace. In my experience, the only true solution to that battle is to surrender it to God and allow Him to work in your life, on His terms and in His time.
Science & Spirituality | Surrender Is Not Powerlessness: What Your Brain and Your Bible Both Know About Anger
Being pissed off feels powerful. But psychologically and spiritually, it’s a trap. Here’s what your brain and your Bible both know about anger, resentment, and why surrender is the most powerful thing you can do.
When Leaves Aren’t Enough: The Real Work of Spiritual Formation | Daily Bread
Spiritual appearance comes naturally. Showing up, saying the right things, checking the right boxes — from a distance, it all looks like faith. But Jesus wasn’t fooled by a leafy tree with nothing underneath, and He isn’t fooled by us either. In this promised deep dive from the Leaves but No Fruit post, we get honest about the gap between looking formed and actually being formed — what creates it, why it’s so easy to miss, and what real transformation actually looks like from the inside out. Spoiler: it’s slower, harder, and more honest than most of us expect.
Authenticity Unveiled | When Winning Isn’t the Point
What’s the real reason I share anything I share? That question snuck up on me recently — not from someone else, but from myself. The honest answer turned out to matter more than I expected.
This post is about that question, and what it revealed when I started looking around at how faith gets performed online versus how Scripture actually models it. The Bible is full of people who questioned God, fact-checked apostles, wrestled all night, demanded evidence, and were honored for it. Truth doesn’t need a bodyguard. It thrives in the open.
So here’s my invitation: push back. Ask harder. Say “but what about ____?” That’s not a threat to what I believe. Growth is the point. Not winning.
Authenticity Unveiled | Noise of Ego vs. Voice of Spirit
The clash between illusion and truth is not only around us. It is within us. Nowhere is that battle clearer than in the noise of ego versus the voice of Spirit. The ego is loud. It demands attention, insists on control, and craves validation. It thrives on illusion because illusions protect its power. Ego willContinueContinue reading “Authenticity Unveiled | Noise of Ego vs. Voice of Spirit”
From Roots to Renewal | Where We Grow From Here
Silence isn’t absence. It’s work being done. Deep work. The kind that doesn’t always announce itself but shows up later as fruit. I have been mostly quiet in terms of writing and sharing here at Twin Tree throughout 2025. I’ve shared about some situational things here and there, mostly to help keep focus on theContinueContinue reading “From Roots to Renewal | Where We Grow From Here”
Letting Go of Begging: Trusting in God’s Provision
There is a deep, human longing within us all—to be chosen, to be loved, to be accepted. It’s natural. We were created for connection, for relationships, for the comfort of knowing that we belong somewhere, with someone. But too often, in our pursuit of that belonging, we make a crucial mistake: we fight for placesContinueContinue reading “Letting Go of Begging: Trusting in God’s Provision”
Sunday Sessions | It’s a Beautiful Day
There’s a song I think we’ve all heard at least once in passing, whether on social media, in reels, or shorts: “Lord, thank you for sunshine, thank you for rain. Thank you for joy, thank you for pain. It’s a beautiful day. It’s a beautiful day.” I haven’t been on social media much lately. TheContinueContinue reading “Sunday Sessions | It’s a Beautiful Day”
Random Reflections: The Tug-of-War Between Past and Future
This post is a “random reflection” inspired by a quote I came across tonight while preparing for meditation: The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere. (Xun Zi) This quote struck me deeply because it perfectly captures the inner conflict we create when we try to move forward while clinging toContinueContinue reading “Random Reflections: The Tug-of-War Between Past and Future”
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