I made a costly, mindless mistake yesterday that left me spiraling into shame. Soon after, I had to prepare for a prayer session with my church, still battling darkness within. I was teaching myself and my church about Jesus revoking our condemnation. "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..." (Rom 8:1 NIV) I had to keep reading until I could give the Word of God some power over the assailment in my mind.

I love when my man goes Bible nerdy and starts speaking Greek! We all learned some cool stuff in this one!

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." I've always thought about renewing my mind as an illusive thing, mastered only by people who write books about it. I've always wanted to renew my mind, but never realized I already do every day. We all do

We’ve all been through dark nights. We’ve all been to rock bottom. But what do you do the next morning? What is your go-to when you get the first glimpse of light after your darkest day? It matters.

I come from a long line of celebrators and joy-finders. I am an optimist by nature thanks to my upbringing. Lately, I've noticed doubt and earth-level rationalism lacing my thought patterns. I've hesitated over praying for something when logic and circumstances clearly point another direction. I've sought to protect myself from what seems like another unanswered prayer.

The Kingdom of God is a mysterious thing. People find freedom in their prisons and find their lives when they lose them. Chris preached a powerful message this week to help us all find ourselves in the Kingdom. Check it out!

On Sunday at church, my husband delivered a powerful message about a "midnight moment". He told the story from Acts 16 of Paul and Silas on a long and seemingly unfruitful missionary journey. Not only did it seem there wasn't much to show for their labors, but they faced grave injustices, were beaten with rods and shacked into intentionally agonizing positions in the inner cells of a Roman prison. But...

What happens when you find yourself stuck in a midnight moment? What do we do when we find ourselves in a dark night of the soul? There is an answer. One that is guaranteed to help. One that will shake the foundations help help you find freedom.

Have you heard the famous story of David and Goliath? A young, seemingly unqualified shepherd boy went on an inglorious errand for this father. Upon arrival, he found a mountain of a man threatening his people. The giant Goliath declared impending doom, and David's people cowered in agreement.

David looked up at the towering terror and said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." -1 Samuel 17:45

I wanted to share an article I wrote for Help Club for Moms with you. I LOVE extra opportunities to write and teach - because that’s when I learn the most. I wrote this article weeks ago during a very stressful time. I remember the pending deadline to submit an article about the Word of God and feeling overwhelmed about what to say. But isn’t that always where God shows up?

This week Chris finished a series on identity that was soooo good. It impacted our home in mighty ways, and delivered some powerful truth about identity in Christ. Everyone needs to hear this truth! Enjoy!

Last week, we found out we are expecting a healthy baby boy in April! We rejoiced over our blessings, and tears of grief stung my face simultaneously. My first pregnancy in 2018 was very brief. Our daughter, Annabel Brave, was born straight into heaven. Moments after seeing a hearty baby boy dance around my womb, I lamented for my little girl like it was the day I lost her.

Keep Reading…. Baby Ladd gender reveal is here!

A mom's love is a crazy thing. Truly. Tiny people take over our bodies, hearts, and minds - and occupy every millimeter of personal space and time that previously existed. Some days you can't wait for them to go to sleep, only to stay up late watching videos of them or praying for them.

Chris showed his true colors on stage this week. Not like he did the week before when he cried through his message. This time he opened up with a comedy routine that exposed his love for organization and label makers. This is who I live with. The message will make you think and is a reminder about the power of labels and how we think. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Life seemed extra life-ish this week. There were extra-high highs, extra-low lows, and a lot of situations where I found myself thinking, "I have no idea what to do here." Need, questions and sometimes fear wrapped around me, so I started waking at 4:30am to beat my toddler to the start of the day. I simply worshiped in the quiet moments before life woke up.

This one makes you think. This message creates freedom, and I think it will have a huge impact on you! Lifa said it was one of the first times he felt like he heard God speak to him during church! Check this one out.

There was a day this week that I put my sick toddler in front of a screen and fell asleep on the floor next to him. I bribed him with a smoothie to get through a doctor's appointment, and after 1 hour and 3 meltdowns in a pharmacy (not telling whose meltdowns), I gave him a popsicle in the bath tub if he would JUST TAKE THE MEDICINE. I limped to the finish line of that day.

Southpoint Prays is still going strong! When we started leading Southpoint Church in January, we weren’t even meeting in person. We have spent the majority of this year on some form of a lockdown, unable to meet corporately as church. The only thing I knew to do was keep gathering in prayer! So I started Southpoint Prays through Facebook Live. It took a while for the church to warm up to the idea of sharing prayer requests online, but since the beginning of the year, we’ve walked through new life, new jobs, loss, sickness, and much more. It’s so powerful to know someone is going to be there to pray - same time, same place every week. Show up if you can. Here’s this week’s prayer time. Tell me how we can pray for you!

I tried to conceal the baby bump to no avail this week! I just re-watched myself introduce Chris… and those camera angles. 🤦‍♀️

I loved this message. Chris was real, raw and spoke the truth for what it is. It wasn’t a convicting message but an invitation to understand your options and make your own decision as to whether or not you want to follow Jesus.

Happy Heritage Day, South Africa! 🇿🇦 Many South Africans will fire up their braai's today, and some will don traditional clothing and dance as we celebrate the cultural wealth of the nation. Cultural celebrations resound with belonging as we come around shared history, songs, food, and clothing that remind us of where we came from.

I remember tearfully leaving my grandmother's house the day I moved to South Africa in 2010…