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9 Lumens & Illuminate

I’m a coach and educator exploring faith, Scripture, and personal development. Through two newsletters (9 Lumens & Illuminate), I tell the stories of women and Scripture and hold space for the kind of thinking that leads to meaningful change for women, pastors, and leaders.

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Miryam, from Bitter Waters to Waters of Strength

April 2025 Reader. Consider this your invitation to immerse yourself in the waters of Miryam, from bitter to strong, on August 22nd. Keep reading, and I'll tell you more. All the way back in May (which feels like a lifetime ago already, anyone else?), I wrote about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the different seasons of her life I kept recognizing in my own: Yes Mary Training Wheels Mary Wedding at Cana Mary At the Cross Mary Upper Room Mary If you missed that one, you can read it here What I...

August 2026 Women of Exodus Hi [First Name], I do wish I hadn't turned off "record" last night — but I've noticed that some of you don't say much when the recording is on. So honestly, I don't know if we would have had the rich conversation we did afterward even if I'd kept recording. But the way Amy summed up Zipporah — brave, courageous, decisive — and then pointed out how the world wants to diminish obedience. Gasp. Which led me to thinking about a coaching question I was given early in my...

May 2026 Insights Insights from the work: what clients are navigating, what I’m learning, and ways to keep growing. Reader, Trying to talk about 27 years of Type 3 & Type 1 marriage in a 40-minute podcast felt like skipping rocks across the surface of a very deep pond. Six years ago, when Neil walked in the door angry, I spiraled into performance. Not anymore. He's done his work with anger, I've done mine with performance, and daily inner work is what has left us both more grounded —...

August 2026 Reader, To be honest, I have a hard time saying the word "preaching" out loud when it comes to me. I grew up where women weren't allowed to. Even now, at nearly fifty-five years old, "I preached on Sunday" feels like I'm saying something that isn't mine to use. Maybe it's because I feel the title of "preacher" doesn't fit. If I'm preaching, does that make me a preacher? What if I'm teaching, but not technically a teacher? I do have a theology degree; does that make me a...

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May 2026 Insights Insights from the work: what clients are navigating, what I’m learning, and ways to keep growing. Reader, We pour so much energy into January 1st. New year, new intentions, fresh start. I can feel the energy and exhaustion even now just writing about it. But July 2nd, the ACTUAL halfway point of the year, is unnoticeable. Not without good reason — trapped between Canada Day and the Fourth of July, plans for the summer...AND it's not like there is a national holiday around...

May 2026 Insights Insights from the work: what clients are navigating, what I’m learning, and ways to keep growing. Reader, What you will find in this email: A reflection on the simplicity of heart A free reflection guide you can download to sit with this for yourself A note about new marriage coaching Simplicity of Heart Simplicity. That was the word that stopped me in Acts 2:46, read in a different translation (CJB), so it purposely didn't sound too familiar. Other translations read humble...

April 2025 Reader. This specific week, the week prior to Pentecost, I find myself thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Find that surprising? A few years ago, I would have too. But ever since researching The Women Around the Cross, I can’t think about Pentecost without also thinking about Mary waiting in the Upper Room for the promised Holy Spirit. Podcast Session 6, The Epilogue: More Marys, [Listen here] Jesus had been appearing to them for 40 days, when he gave the disciples...

May 2026 Insights Insights from the work: what clients are navigating, what I’m learning, and ways to keep growing. Reader, What you will find in this email: The reflection I’m practicing as I finish a 12-week Enneagram training A simple way to work with your type A free Deeper Dive Guide to your type I’m finishing up a 12-week certification process this week with Enneagram + Marriage, and I will share more in a couple of weeks, once I submit the final case study requirements. For now, I want...

April 2025 Reader. When we think about Mary, the mother of Jesus, most of us picture her in the birth of Jesus, or at the wedding in John 2, where she draws His attention to the need and speaks her final recorded words, “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5), or within the events of the resurrection weekend. But we see her one more time, in the upper room at Pentecost (this year, May 24, 2026). A beautiful YouTube documentary of a new artist piece If you want to sit with this part of her...

April 2025 Reader. This is a rewrite from last year. As Sabbath happens every week. While working on the Hearing Their Stories: Reading Guide, (for the podcast series found on Spotify here), I was struck by a note in my Bible: Psalm 92 is a psalm for the Sabbath—meant to be read every Sabbath. Imagine that. For thousands of years, every single Saturday (remember, Sabbath in Jewish tradition begins Friday at sundown and ends Saturday at sundown), Jewish people all over the world read Psalm 92....