Simply Stories

Last October, I went with a group of friends to see the Irish Christian band Rend Collective. My favourite song of theirs is “Counting Every Blessing.” In seasons of uncertainty, it's easy to focus on what we lack instead of what we have. I love Rend Collective's Counting Every Blessing because it is a song about choosing gratitude and total surrender when we can't see what God is doing. If you haven't heard it yet, you can listen to it on their album, Good News, available on

Monday evening, as I puttered around my apartment, my phone chimed. It was a message from my sweet friend Nikki telling me she had left a little something outside my door. First of all, I was just so happy to hear from her—it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, so receiving that text was such a sweet surprise. I had actually been thinking about her that very morning, so God’s timing was impeccable. ​Earlier that day, as we sang a couple of worship songs during our Mo

September has always stood out to me because it’s such a transitional month. In Canada, although we head back to school at the start of September, autumn doesn’t officially begin until September 22nd or 23rd. As I looked through photos on my phone from the month that just passed, I noticed sunshine, cornfields, pumpkins and country drives. I also thought back to the range of weather we had, from strong winds and pouring rain to bright skies and beautiful sunset glows.

It’s been almost a year and a half since I last wrote a blog post. I didn’t intentionally decide to step away, but I also didn’t make an effort to continue writing. Can I be honest? Sometimes I feel like a wannabe writer, an imposter, inadequate. I feel like I should be further along when it comes to the type of writer I wish to be. I don’t read as much as I used to or as much as I wish I did, and I fear that has stunted my writing growth. And if I dig deeper, I realize this