Pearls & Pumas

Stop Fighting for Balance — Start Resting in Him Hey Reader, If you’re fighting for a balanced life, you’re fighting for the wrong thing. Why? Because balance doesn’t exist. It’s an illusion the world sold us—and we bought it. A façade that says a balanced life equals a successful life. A fairytale that promises a calm, stress-free, happy ending. But life doesn’t work like that. Each of our lives—and the seasons we’re in—look completely different. Some of us are raising children (or teenagers...

reCLAIMING yOUR pEACE wHEN iT'S bEEN sTOLEN Hey, Reader! Have you ever had one of those days when everything is lined up perfectly—you’re focused, prayerful, productive—and then boom… something comes along and snatches your peace like a dog stealing shoes? (Okay, that might just be us with the dog-shoe situation… we certainly have that problem. 🐾) Moving on. Let me tell you what happened this week. I was mid-email—laser-focused, determined to stay on the priorities I had prayed over and...

Breakthrough: your Identity defines how you define & acHIEVE your goals Hey, Reader! I’ve had another breakthrough and it’s serious. Are you ready? We make a goal, we make a plan, we’re excited, we’re motivated, and then within days (sometimes moments), we fail. Why? Because it’s not about the action—it’s about how we identify ourselves. When we focus solely on modifying our behavior, the end goal is hard. Almost impossible. And when I say impossible, I'm like the CEO of #failedagain. The...

Hey, Reader! I’m that girl who gets so excited with every changing season that if you name it, I have a storage box and a wreath ready for each holiday that comes with it. Call me extra, but that’s how I roll. Decorating for each season energizes me. The thought ignites my creative juices and before you know it, the entire interior and exterior of the house is covered in leaves, pumpkins, snowmen, hearts, bunnies, or {insert obligatory seasonal typical detail here.} With Fall, the season...

Pearls & Pumas Weekly Anchor Hey, Reader! I’m certain we’re alike more than you know. I wake up in the middle of the night with a false guilt that I have let someone down or forgotten to do something. Then, I wake up in the morning, wondering how I’m going to get everything done while realizing there are tasks (and people) I won’t be able to satisfy. Can someone say #guilttrend? I’ve been fighting with this post for days, friend. And I still don’t have a clear reason why. While I’m notorious...

Pearls & Pumas Weekly Anchor Trading Ordinary for Extraordinary "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." — 2 Timothy 1:7 Hey Reader, So, last week, after my husband, Patrick, read my post, he said, "It feels like you weren't finished…like you were supposed to say more." Huh. I'll admit, at first, I was slightly offended. What are you talking about? I said exactly what I wanted to say. But then, for the rest of the week, the theme of...

Pearls & Pumas Anchor Strength for the Race: God’s Spirit Within You Hey Reader, Let’s get real for a minute. How often do we decide we’re going to do something amazing? Maybe it's a small challenge we're going to prove to ourselves, or a next-level goal. We start with determination and excitement, but suddenly we're pulled out of our comfort zone and fall flat. Failure flat. And now those plans are derailed with no one to blame but ourselves. 😒 Trust me, I know the struggle. There was a...

Pearls & Pumas Anchor ORGANIZE, INSPIRE, & THRIVE WITH JESUS The Truth Checklist Hey Reader, I experienced a week when I checked out, and I'm not proud of it. It started with a glorious sunny morning. After my morning "Jesus time," I opened my notebook and started my notorious mind-dump list. You know, the one where we empty our brains of all the things—errands, reminders, and tasks that can’t be forgotten. While it always feels good in the moment, I’ve noticed it also comes with a level of...

Pearls & Pumas Weekly Anchor TRUST THE PROCESS Hey Reader, Have you ever had a time in your life when someone shared words of wisdom with you that were so profound that they completely reframed your thought process on an ingrained perspective? I've had a few of those moments. Some (or most) of those nuggets of wisdom were shared by my late father (where a few of my friends, lovingly call them "Joe's Words of Wisdom"), some by previous leaders or pastors—but the most profound for me was just a...