Velvet Ashes

It was 02/02/2020, and I had just run the best race of my life. Not because I had set any time records, not because I had won a ribbon, and not even because I had beaten any personal goals—it h...

https://velvetashes.com/and-a-bruised-ankle-shall-teach-thee/

Real talk here: overseas work and trauma often go hand-in-hand. It’s not always big “T” trauma, like a major life event, but it can be. More often than not, however, in the life of almost e...

https://velvetashes.com/look-for-the-marks-of-healing/

I signed up for a workshop on healing the wounds of trauma thinking it would be a helpful tool to share with the widows that we work with, and it was. I didn’t realize how much the workshop wou...

https://velvetashes.com/he-binds-up-our-heart-wounds/

Do you feel it? Today, as plastic Easter eggs lay empty around my house, I’m feeling the post-Easter tension. The tomb is empty! The temple curtain is torn in two. Everything has changed. The S...

https://velvetashes.com/where-are-you-feeling-the-brokenness/

I didn’t get the memo. You know, that memo that must’ve communicated, in an easy-to-follow format, just how to raise children—not only in a different culture but also living in the glass ho...

https://velvetashes.com/just-in-case-you-didnt-get-the-memo/

A few months ago, after being picked up from school to head to the airport (we were flying back to the US for Christmas), my daughter said to me, tears in her eyes, “Mom, I’m always missing s...

https://velvetashes.com/will-i-ever-stop-missing-something/

“Mom, I don’t want to be friends with people I’m just going to have to say goodbye to,” my nine-year-old declared on the second day of a recent conference. Cue Mama’s heart shattering....

https://velvetashes.com/raising-tcks-in-light-of-eternity-coconut-basil-curry-chicken/

I was sick to my stomach. I couldn’t believe that I had prepared so completely for our trip but had forgotten a very important detail. The night before I stood nauseous at the Icelandair’s ti...

https://velvetashes.com/jesus-in-the-corner/

Raise your hand if you ever struggle to keep your mind focused during prayer. I know I’m not the only one with my hand in the air. My thoughts can feel like monkeys in my brain, jumping randoml...

https://velvetashes.com/is-it-okay-for-protestants-to-use-prayer-beads/

Last year, I packed up all my belongings and uprooted myself and my life to move to a new location and be part of a new ministry. Sound familiar? I went with the blessing of those I was leaving b...

https://velvetashes.com/wobbly/