About Me

Hello! I’m, Kristen, and this is my high school sweetheart, Shaun.

I wrestled with a question, before I published this website…”who am I, to publish my thoughts online? I mean, who do I think I am, anyway?”

I asked a wise person about my question. And being wise, he gave me some wisdom…

“Why not you?”

He went on…

“Don’t you have a voice, like anybody else? What makes it arrogant, that you should use it?”

He got me there. I do have a voice. And it’s OK to use it.

YOU have a voice, too!

And I hope you decide to use it. Use it to give God the best blessing you can. Use your voice to make a difference in your world. Use it to sing His praises. Use it to speak truth.

Here’s some truth… God is worthy of our attention, worthy of that hard turn toward Him that we make when we discover that abiding in Him beats just about every other pursuit. One way to do this is by worshipping Jesus Christ. Another is by spending time in His Word, the Bible.

Some Stuff About Me

I’m a woman who lives where there is very little sunshine, the Pacific Northwest. It is grey a lot. This lack of blue sky and yellow sun can be pretty wearing. So, what to do?

Some just up and move away. Can’t say as I blame them. Others travel during our 6-7 months of rain and wet and grey and sunless overcast bleakness. They go and visit sunlit lands, to dry out for a spell. That is awesome, if you can.

OR…you can stay. You can stay just right where you are, finding the sunshine within the rain. Finding the smiles and hugs and warmth and joy among our fellows, and within our belonging to God.

I spend time writing and painting, reading, and listening, worshipping and fellowshipping, gardening (a little), keeping house, helping out my husband. caring for our health, communing with the Holy One, and waiting for the sun.

And when it shines, watch out, world! Are there people in the world who celebrate blue sky and yellow sun more than we in the Pacific Northwest?

I’m married to an awesome man who happens to have been born with PKD. Since that’s part of his journey, it’s part of mine too.

I write for Unlocked, the teen devotional magazine which is part of Keys for Kids ministry. Check them out if you know children or teens! These publications are awesome. They have an international outreach, are available in many languages, offer podcast formats — and they are free.

Some Better Stuff

Getting to know the Father, and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, is the best reason for living. The onward journey toward Him is the most significant thing we can ever do.

We can celebrate His goodness and His mercy, even in the dark places and crushing disappointments that life throws our way.

The Holy Spirit resides in His people, and teaches, exhorts, instructs, and guides us, even as we partner with Him in our transformation — a transformation into the image of Christ.

We can pray to our Lord God anytime, anyplace, and in every time, in every place. He wants to hear your voice.

That is so powerful, my friend. When we face the hard stuff trusting fully in His love, no matter what, we strike a blow to God’s enemy and ours. We bring the great God pleasure, too, as we grow up in Him. Imagine that!

My “Faith” Story

I was blessed with an early exposure to God, and a curiosity about Him. I was given opportunities to know Him deeper, and with each struggle, He has taught me more and more regarding the paramount importance of learning to abide with Him, like a branch abides in the vine. (John 15).

One of my “life verses” comes from Isaiah. I decided to memorize it one day when it leaped out at me in my Bible reading. I was 18, and found myself living alone, and lonely.

Sometimes, hardship pushes us closer to the One Person we really need.

So in my heartache, I learned to need Him more. I found out that He is always more. In every way, He is kinder, wiser, and better than mere people could ever be. Here’s the verse that leaped out at me, from the book of Isaiah:

The steadfast in mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee.

Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord we have an everlasting Rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

I am not very good at memorizing. My brain just doesn’t allow details to easily stick, not without all sorts of tricks!

So I grabbed some paper, wrote the verse out, and dashed out the door for the mile-or-so walk to the local community college I attended. As I walked, I focused on those words, repeating them over and over, again.

“The steadfast in mind…”

Steadfast…what does that even mean, I wondered. So I found out.

It means loyal, steady, faithful. It means unswerving, staunch, fixed.

So, I worked on being steadfast. And He did the rest — the Peace part.

He KEEPS us in peace. Perfect peace. We don’t generate it. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the Balm for the heartsick, the crushed, the lonely. He is the Comforter, revealed in Scripture, speaking to us, delighting to be found by those who diligently seek. As I am steadfast, He is my peace.

My Family

I married my high school sweetheart. I found him first, and then he found me too, so it all worked out.

God blessed us with three children, two of whom I got to carry in my body. The youngest was lovingly carried by someone else, someone who selflessly made a plan for his future, through adoption. I was honored to raise these spectacular human beings, which is the second most significant thing I ever got to do.

I have three grandsons, who are, in fact remarkable. They are so remarkable that I could spend the entire website remarking. But I won’t. I promise.

Salty Dog

One must not forget to mention one’s pooch. “Salty Sound Dog” is our sweet old fella, an ancient Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix. He is a “low-rider”, so he ends up wearing the beach on our visits to the Sound. He makes up in volume what he lacks in height, sounding out his tremendous, hearty, salty “bark”, whenever he feels so inclined.

He shows up from time to time in some of my photos. His actual name is “Biscuit”…so that makes him a “sea-biscuit”, I suppose.

Thanks for stopping by to learn more about me.