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Beauty for Ashes
Isaiah 61:3
"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."
Welcome to Beauty for Ashes...a bearing of my redeemed soul in the hopes of building up yours
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Breaking the Silence
I prefer talking over silence. Considering I have 5 kids who speak volumes, maybe that’s surprising. It’s not that I don’t like a...
cguichelaar
Oct 7, 202310 min read
Doubtless Thou art my Father
My prayer life has been inconsistent lately. I can’t help but wonder at the last time I uttered speech to God privately. My old prayer...
cguichelaar
Apr 5, 20236 min read
Shalom
My faith is unsteady. It crumbles and it quakes. I am the last leaf of autumn shaking and shivering amidst all the cold…oh how my heart...
cguichelaar
Mar 17, 20238 min read
Ebenezer-I give a prayer to Thee
My lips are dry with mourning Lord, and I know not what to say. It wasn’t my plan to sit here trying to set my words to ink today. Yet...
cguichelaar
Jan 31, 20234 min read
Waves
She is brave in setting her feelings to ink. Brave because with each word comes the reality, “this thing…this unspoken and horrible...
cguichelaar
Jan 3, 20236 min read
Break of the Morning
You going to wake up the kids? His words beckon my bone-tired body to breathe the breath of a new day. Morning has dawned, but I don’t...
cguichelaar
Oct 28, 20227 min read
Dear Wild One
Dear wild one…I yelled at you today. My voice was too harsh. Too loud. Too quick to throw words at you. Dear wild one… I saw your...
cguichelaar
Sep 7, 20225 min read
A Midnight Prayer
We pray at night. Since married life began it’s just something that we do. Yet there are times I lay my head to sleep and the cares we...
cguichelaar
Aug 14, 20226 min read
He Will Go With Me All The Way
I have felt it creeping up on me. Have felt that deepening sense of, “this isn’t a forever thing.” I have known this was part of the...
cguichelaar
Jun 20, 20228 min read
A Day in the Life of a Sexual Abuse Survivor
“Just when I think it is over, think it is done, I find myself shivering again, in the warmth of the sun.” -Rachael Denhollander Jesus...
cguichelaar
Jun 8, 20225 min read
Broken Children
Clouds roll dark over Wisconsin sky. Late spring breathes its way through the cracks of our front porch, nipping at my skin. My son...
cguichelaar
May 23, 20228 min read
The Juniper Tree
The thing about grief is that it’s messy. It’s complicated and often confusing. One moment our ship is sailing steadfast, headed...
cguichelaar
Apr 25, 20227 min read
{A}lone
Alone. The word holds such emptiness. My son doesn’t like to be alone. Just last week all 7 years of him decided wisdom meant scooping...
cguichelaar
Feb 23, 202211 min read
A Daughter's Simple Prayer
I have not words to pray, Lord. My heart is full of moans. Spirit intercede for me where all I can give are groans. My prayer feels so...
cguichelaar
Jan 16, 20223 min read
The Bummer Lamb
There are times that the what ifs, mishaps, and mistakes of life take crusade against me. They murmur accusations in their circle,...
cguichelaar
Jan 15, 20227 min read
I Know Your Name
Christmas. If I’m being honest, I long for the white kind. The kind where everything seems merry and bright. For the gathering of...
cguichelaar
Dec 27, 202112 min read
The Palm
I have these times. Times where my soul wanders, making it hard to chip away at anything other than the engulfing thoughts. Times where...
cguichelaar
Dec 15, 202112 min read
Quilt of Wonder
We all have those moments. The bursting kind that are used to measure the chasm between this garden and the next. The moments gather...
cguichelaar
Nov 26, 20219 min read
The Pastor's Wife
Dear pastor’s wife-as Pastor Appreciation month comes to a close, I want you to know…I see you. I know there are times that it gets hard....
cguichelaar
Oct 30, 20219 min read
Dinah of Today
Dinah. Her name seemed to bellow up at me from the page below. I felt swallowed into the narrative, beckoned to come see. Dinah…the...
cguichelaar
Oct 13, 202111 min read
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