Published: November 20, 2025 | Author: Kierstyn Chambers

It is very tempting to expect new beginnings and blessings to be everything we could imagine as soon as we encounter them. When new things aren’t shiny and ready-made, it’s a little less exciting. Expanding on this thought, here’s a quick question. If you asked for a house and someone gave you the parts and the blueprint to build it, would the new beginning start when you got the new materials or when the house was built? My answer a couple of weeks ago would have been that the new beginning starts when the house is built, but today, I say the new beginning starts when you get the materials to build the house. I think it is important to recognize that new beginnings are beautiful things that do not always come with instant gratification. Why is that perspective shift important? It helps you not to strive and pine for what God has already given. Be patient enough to let it unfold.

Published: November 6, 2025 | Author: Kierstyn Chambers

All of the wise sentiments in the world could not make healing less difficult.
Healing is not linear. This truth is one people often share when you’re in the thick of things, and unfortunately, it doesn’t always feel helpful. Healing is a very complicated process that we often try to simplify in an effort to appease others and move on. This is a process I wrote about in a poem titled “Dead Roses”. The patient consoling of others often feels like a time clock because you know they won’t tend to you forever. In fact, the unfortunate truth is that when you take “too long to heal”, people often resent you for it. So how do I at least have patience with myself even when everyone else’s has dried up? A very Christian answer is to lean into God, but this is another truth that does not always feel helpful.

For those of us with childhood trauma, something that I have learned in counseling is to tend to that wounded part of yourself as if you are tending to a child (the child you were when it happened). Maybe this would be helpful for working through trauma from all stages of life. With the way we often view what it means to be an adult in this society, it can be difficult for us to be delicate with ourselves. Some of us develop difficulty with self compassion before we’re even adults. Further developing my relationship with God and learning to see God as compassionate and all-seeing has really helped me. God is not cold and disconnected from our pain, traumas, and injuries, and I would argue that when we suppress and rush ourselves, we are rejecting parts of God- the parts of God that we are invited to experience when we lack strength.

One of the most harmful things you can do is rush a healing process. If you want complete wellness, you will keep running into the same barriers until you fully accept and embrace the ugly and beautiful process that is healing old wounds.

Published: October 23, 2025 | Author: Kierstyn Chambers

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1 NIV

I have doubted God so many times, and yet, He has never left me hanging. My perspective on certain events in my life, at one point, made me believe that God was not dependable. It is these experiences that helped me realize that doubting God stems from perspective not unfiltered reality. Many times, it feels most safe to be anchored in being “realistic”. But who gets the final say on what is “realistic”? Perspective or God?

Something that I have noticed within myself and others is that doubt tends to serve as a bullet-proof vest. It helps us to feel safer in uncertain circumstances because to stand firm in a storm rather than blowing in the wind takes a lot of work. To put this into context, when we express doubt in situations where we feel led towards the “unrealistic” decision, we are able to preserve our image and not look like the crazy person. Maybe God is calling you to move to a new city and based on your perspective and the perspectives of those around you, staying put makes more sense. Expressing uncertainty even when you know what God has said may keep you from looking crazy to people, but it may also hinder the glory that God gets in your situation. It seems to me that doubting God can sometimes be fueled by pride, the thing that can make you put yourself before God. By saying this, I am not implying that doubting God is a villainous act, but I am saying that it is important to reflect on the real root of your doubt. 

Published: September 24, 2025 | Author: Kierstyn Chambers

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”- Ecclesiastes 9:10

What do you think of when it comes to productivity? Going to work? Volunteering? Cleaning your room? Or perhaps you have a bottom line definition of what productivity looks like for you. According to dictionary.com, productivity is “the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services”. This definition lets us know that the only way to be productive is to put in work that is beneficial to a society. 

In the world we live in, hard work and contributing to the world around us is heavily encouraged. Even the Bible encourages us to work hard. But when the Bible speaks of hard work and work in general, it does not just talk about the world’s definition of productivity. Therefore, those of us who live by the Bible must make sure to acknowledge what being productive by the Bible’s standard looks like. Because we live in the world, it is really easy for us to automatically apply the black and whiteness of the world to God’s word. Those of us who are seen as very productive by the world’s standards, can sometimes miss the mark when it comes to spiritual productivity for many reasons. These reasons may include the lack of understanding, the prioritization of worldly success and the discouragement that can make it hard to keep going. Maybe God wants you to seek Him in your pursuit of productivity.