Yesterday, the first Sunday of Advent, our family had the privilege of lighting the “hope” candle at our church. Truth be told, I had to bribe my son with the promise that HE could be the one to handle the fire and light the candle, but we made it! We also gained a child (our friend’s son was sitting with us), so that was fun!

Admittedly, the holidays are always a mixed bag for us. In one hand we hold anticipation, the beauty of connection with friends and family and the meaning behind the reason we celebrate… In the other hand we hold sensory overload, (My kids are like the canary in the coal mine when it comes to sensing we are doing too much! Anyone else?), unmet expectations and the loss of loved ones who are no longer with us.

Enter: hope. What does hope look like for you this season? Over the course of the week I’ll be sharing some photographs I have taken over the years that inspire a sense of hope in me. Each day I will update this post with a new image. I’d love to hear or see what hope looks like for YOU this holiday season!




So much has happened since then…
I was not alone.


Just keeping it real… sometimes Hope shows up in a cup of coffee and some time away from the daily grind. Can I get an “amen”? (Photo taken during my Spiritual Direction cohort, August 2022)

This photo was taken at the Magnalia Homestead Foundation (8/22) which exemplifies all of these values in such a beautiful way.
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