“Do you want to be healed?” To someone battling a chronic illness day in and day out, it sounds like such a foolish question. But when you’ve been fighting that illness for the entirety of your life…So much so that it becomes the very core of who you are…Is it really so crazy? Today wraps up Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, hot on the heels of National Donate Life Month in April, and honestly, I’ve had extremely mixed feelings about it. On one hand, CF is obviously a giant part of Zack’s and my life, and one that affects many whom I love and love to advocate for. I can’t even begin to count ho ..read more

[Formerly “The Greatest of These”] The Cystic Fibrosis community waits in anticipation this week for the release of Five Feet Apart, a new movie about two teenage CF patients who meet in the hospital and fall for one another, but aren’t allowed to come within six feet of each other because of a long-standing rule put into place to prevent CFers from potentially transferring life-threatening bacteria. As expected, the fanfare surrounding it among those living with Cystic Fibrosis is high; CF is relatively unknown and highly isolating for most, so any awareness that shines light on the formidabl ..read more

Today marks a new milestone in my life that I am incredibly thankful for and honored to share. But first, the original testimony… Just about two years ago, I thought I had life figured out. I thought I was happy. I had avoided addiction that seemed to plague my family, I had overcome multiple divorces and conquered a vast family tree, I had been a fighter of Cystic Fibrosis all of my life and was winning thanks to CrossFit (so I thought), and I was loved and thought I knew what love was and how to give it back. I was in control; But my standard came from the people around me and not the stan ..read more

Surrender. What a beautifully tricky little world. Anyone who follows Zack and I on social media knows that in August, we packed up and left Florida to return to my home state of Texas and in October, my hometown of Tyler. Why we felt the call on our lives to leave our little slice of paradise and traipse back to a town that broke my young heart over and over and over again has yet to be determined; and I would be lying if I said that it hasn’t been one. tough. mamma jamma. of a ride. BUT, we stand in uncompromising faith that there is a reason, that it’s even bigger than we can imagine and th ..read more

When tragedy strikes like it did this past weekend here in Texas, even I find myself falling prey to the knee-jerk reaction of, “Daddy God, why? Where were you? And in a church? Where they should have been safer than ever?” First and foremost: We as Christ-followers must, must, MUST remember that the Bible promises us in black and white that we WILL face persecution for our faith. Not because He doesn’t love us. Not because His protection isn’t big enough for us. But because we live in a terribly fallen world where many choose to wield His gift of free will for evil. Some believers may only fa ..read more

I ran across a comment yesterday on a CNN article regarding the gassing of innocent children in Syria that posed the age old question: “If there’s a God, how could He allow such an atrocity to happen?” As usual, it brought up simultaneous reactions in my spirit of both heartbreak and anger, as many posts that mock our Abba Father do. But I’ve come to realize that they don’t affect me because I’m under the impression that He can’t handle or isn’t used to the abuse. They affect me because I know Him. Personally. I know who He is and I know His true character and it saddens me how far off the mar ..read more

In striving to walk closer with Christ lately, Zack and I have opened ourselves up to searching for learning opportunities in things that we admittedly haven’t paid much attention to before. So I was SUPER excited when two sweet girlfriends posted and raved about Sacred Holidays’ He Is, a new Advent devotional they started last week, on social media. I wanted more background as to what exactly Advent was before I began, so I did some research and found that it is much more than flipping calendar pages in expectation of Christmas. “Advent” is a variation of the Latin word meaning “coming” and i ..read more

11/11 has always been one of my very favorite dates. Not only because it’s the ultimate day to wish for what you want most in life And not only because it’s a day set aside to celebrate the brave souls who have sacrificed their own liberties and comforts to bless us with ours But also because God chose this day for my very own hero to grace the planet with his presence. Tomorrow will mark the 17th year that I have celebrated my dad’s birthday in memory instead of in person. Every year, I take the time to remember him in my own personal way, whether it be a social media post acknowledging how ..read more

My heart has cried out time and time again to write this blog, but in my hesitancy to discuss controversial topics on social media, I’ve kept my thoughts to myself. Since the final presidential debate last weekend, however, there is one issue that I simply can’t stay silent on any longer. Almost everyone who knows me personally or follows me on social media is aware that I battle Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic terminal illness that primarily destroys the lungs and digestive system over time. It was discovered when I was three months old, but it had stamped a life expectancy of grade school on me b ..read more

Growing up, everyone has a hero. Some girls watch The Little Mermaid, flick their long hair over their shoulders, tie their ankles together with oversized Scrunchies and flail around on the floor as if they’re desperately immobile on dry land. Some boys scoop mud onto their fingers and drag it across their cheeks preparing for battle as Rambo. There’s a role model for everyone: Batman, Belle, Spiderman, Cinderella…Name any given one and they’ll resonate with a child somewhere and give them a sense of importance and belonging far before they’ve reached an age where they can tackle the world the ..read more