Emery and I made pretzels together on our last vacation. I love this little video of flour-dusted hands twisting dough.

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I stopped to grab some pictures of how the city workers keep beauty front and center, softening all the concrete and steel of the skyscrapers around us. A black planter along the street overflows with petunias and sweet potato vine, and the coleus and other flowers outside my building have exploded after all this rain and humidity.

What’s Been On My Heart

How often do you wish to go back to the way things were?

Memories can be a gift when you learn from them. But, they can also be a life-sucking weight you carry into every new day.

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT) says:

"But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

Dear one, you were not created to live your life from the rearview mirror.

The past can't be changed, rewritten, or improved no matter how many times you replay it. Give yourself permission to move forward.

Your abundant life isn't behind you. It's the pathway God's making right now, even through the parts of your story that still feel like wilderness.

Something for You

Some situations only God can untangle. I recently joined W. Mark Whitlock on the Hope for Estranged Parents podcast to talk about exactly that, the moments when you need God to do the impossible in a relationship you can't fix on your own. Watch it here: ​"How Children React to Hard News," Episode 03, Hope for Estranged Parents, featuring Kirsten Samuel​

Talking to your kids about separation or betrayal needs God's wisdom. Two recent posts on my blog give some suggestions about navigating that conversation, one gentle step at a time: ​

​When Dad or Mom Leaves: 5 Honest Ways to Talk to Your Kids About Separation​

​What Do I Tell My Kids? How to talk to Children About Marital Betrayal​

Don't Forget

This is your last chance to save 15% on Breathe Again: A Healing Path, my twelve-week group coaching experience for women healing from betrayal, which begins September 15 at 10:00 a.m. Central. The code EARLYBIRD15 (case-sensitive) expires at midnight, August 25.

Not sure if Breathe Again: A Healing Path is right for you? Schedule a free Breathe Again Session with me to share where you are and discuss your options. You don't have to do this alone.

Questions? Email me at Kirsten@KirstenDSamuel.com.

🙏🏻 A Prayer for You

Dear God, life can be hard, lonely, frightening, and confusing. Would you bring understanding to Reader in one difficult area? Provide a safe person to listen and share this difficulty, whatever it may be. Surround Reader with your protection. Psalm 27:23-24 (NLT) reminds, "The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand." Thank you for this promise. Give Reader the courage to trust you and hold your hand tightly. Amen.