Summer with a toddler is bright, messy, loud, and surprisingly sacred. From squeaky sandals on the patio to backyard splash pads and evening family walks, these days are full of simple rhythms that shape both of us.

In this episode of Threshold, I’m reflecting on what toddler summers teach me about slowing down, embracing repetition, and finding joy in the ordinary.

In this episode, I share:

-The backyard rhythms that make up our toddler summer (splash pad, bubbles, and a rotating toy collection)

-How nap times have become a daily reset for both of us

-Why toddler routines—snacks, rest, early dinners—are grounding for moms too

-The gift of spontaneous adventures mixed with steady structure

-A simple prayer I find myself returning to at the end of each day

LINKS:

☕️ Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

💌 Subscribe for weekly posts 

📚 Read more on Substack

📖 Check out my book, How Much More?

👋🏻 Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

When Resurrection Weeps is a poetry memoir giving voice to the hidden corners of motherhood—traumatic pregnancy, traumatic birth, miscarriage & loss, and the quiet ache of grief.

Through raw and lyrical storytelling, my hope is to weave together faith, loss, and love, creating space for honest lament and unexpected hope. This collection makes something beautiful out of one of my most difficult and tender seasons of life.

Whether you’ve walked through loss, postpartum mental health battles, a traumatic pregnancy or birth, or are holding the tender beauty of new life with grief, these poems offer solidarity, healing, and the reminder that resurrection doesn't erase our tears, it meets us in them.

🌱 My prayer is for you to find permission here to go to God with the depths of your pain.

LINKS:

☕️ Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

💌 Subscribe for weekly posts 

📚 Read more on Substack

📖 Check out my book, How Much More?

👋🏻 Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

Trigger warning: This episode includes raw reflections on miscarriage, grief, and physical trauma. Please take care as you listen.

This is an episode I never wanted to record. A few months ago, I found out I was pregnant again. This episode includes my raw, real-time reflections during my miscarriage. I was still carrying the baby when I wrote this but my baby's heart had stopped beating.

I’ve taken time to process before publishing, but I’m still healing. If you’ve known this kind of loss, I am so sorry. I hope this story makes you feel less alone.

In this episode, I talk about:

🤍 The moment we saw the heartbeat—and the moment we didn’t

🤍 What it feels like to carry grief in your body

🤍 Wrestling with faith, silence, and the temptation to blame

🤍The ache of well-meaning spiritual platitudes that only hurt more

🤍 How I’m learning to hold space for grief, confusion, and trust at the same time

Links:

-Subscribe for weekly posts 

-Read more on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

This week’s Beyond the Labels essay comes from Amber Rabon—a wife, stay-at-home mom, and retired English teacher who’s passionate about biblical literacy and the power of shared stories. In this vulnerable reflection, Amber invites us into a quiet moment where identity, failure, and performance collide—and where the voice of God meets us with gentle clarity.

In this episode, Amber shares:

✨The moment sourdough became a symbol for her feelings of failure

✨Why new motherhood can feel like a blurry mirror—where purpose and identity are hard to see

✨How God uses our actual gifts and personalities in motherhood—not the ones we wish we had

✨A tender reminder that we are His first—before the labels, before the striving

Links + Resources:

-Read more from Amber on her Substack: amberleerabon.substack.com

-Subscribe for weekly posts on Threshold

-Read more of Threshold on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

One of the most downloaded episodes of Threshold was Sabbath rest when you can’t take a day off. Today, I’m revisiting that conversation with a part two.

This episode explores how walking—yes, literal walking—has become one of the holiest practices in my own journey of healing, faith, and motherhood. I reflect on what it means that Jesus chose to walk everywhere, and how that simple, embodied act became an invitation for us to meet him in our ordinary, daily rhythms.

Whether you're postpartum, in a season where rest feels impossible, or just exhausted by the pace of life, I hope this episode offers you a gentler way of imagining Sabbath—not as a full stop, but as soul-deep rest that meets you where you are.

In this episode, I talk about:

-Why walking became sacred to me during postpartum recovery

-The surprising connection between walking, EMDR, and healing

-A new way to think about Sabbath when you can’t “take a day off”

-How Jesus meets us in motion and invites us to real rest

Mentioned in this episode:

Part one of this conversation: Sabbath rest when you can’t take a day off

History of EMDR

Jesus goes for a walk

Let this be a reminder: You don’t have to stop everything to find rest. Sometimes, the invitation is simple—walk with Him.

Links:

-Subscribe for weekly posts 

-Read more on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

This week’s Beyond the Labels essay comes from Brianna Brown—a spiritual director, missionary, and adoptive mom whose journey into motherhood has held both the sacred and the shattering. With honesty and compassion, Brianna shares a story most of us never imagine living. If you’ve ever faced a reality that looked nothing like the dream you had, Brianna’s story is a gentle invitation to lay down shame and lean into grace.

In this episode, Brianna shares:

✨How her perspective on motherhood and adoption shifted over the years

✨The painful moment she realized she had become the mom she once judged

✨What it looked like to surrender her child to a new family out of love—not failure

✨Honest questions she wrestled with: Did we get it wrong? Did God abandon us?

✨The invitation to release labels and love one another as Christ has loved us

Links + Resources:

Connect with Brianna: briannambrown.com

Subscribe to her Substack: Brianna M. Brown on Substack

Read her book: Soar: Noticing God While Discerning the Unfathomable

My Links:

-Subscribe for weekly posts 

-Read more on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

I used to think friendship needed to look a certain way—spontaneous hangouts, deep coffee shop convos, dinner parties and matching life stages. But then I became a mom, and everything shifted. This episode is about what two-hour wake windows taught me about presence, how motherhood reshaped my friendship values, and the specific (slightly scary) prayer I prayed when I realized I needed friends close to home. If you’ve ever felt guilty for wanting friendship to feel easier—or lighter—this is your permission slip to stop apologizing for needing what you need.

In this episode, I talk about:

✨My old expectations of friendship and how motherhood changed everything

✨What I learned about myself in the newborn nap schedule era

✨The surprising friendship value I didn’t know I had: proximity

✨Letting go of guilt and embracing friendships that fit within the rhythms of your real life

Links:

-Subscribe for weekly posts 

-Read more on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

This week’s Beyond the Labels essay comes from Tylee Shay—a photographer, writer, and soon-to-be author whose quiet, lakeside life is anything but small. With a camera in one hand and a pen in the other, Tylee reminds us that our gifts don’t have to compete. Maybe they’re meant to live together, and maybe that intersection is where our true calling lies. If you’ve ever wrestled with being “too many things,” this episode will feel like a breath of fresh air and a gentle nudge to stop choosing—and start integrating.

In this episode, Tylee shares:

✨How she grew up loving both photography and writing—and why she felt pressure to choose

✨What changed when she stopped labeling herself with just one title

✨The idea that your superpower might be in your combination of gifts

✨A reminder that what God placed in you isn’t random—it’s intentional and meant to be offered back to the world

Links + Resources:

Connect with Tylee on Instagram: @tylee.shay

Subscribe to her Substack: Prose & Photos

Book mentioned: The Crossroads of Should and Must by Elle Luna

-Subscribe for weekly posts on Threshold

-Read more from me on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

There’s a noise that follows us everywhere—the hum of performance, the clamor of curated lives, the constant push to be seen and admired. This week, I’m sharing some thoughts on what it means to live quietly in a culture that celebrates being loud. If you’ve ever felt exhausted by the need to keep up appearances or wondered if the loudest voices are always the truest—this one’s for you.

In this episode, I talk about:

✨The noise of performance and how it shows up online and in real life

✨My own wrestle with sharing highlights that look vulnerable but still protect my image

✨The shift I’ve felt from craving affirmation to craving what’s real

Links:

-Subscribe for weekly posts 

-Read more on Substack

-Say thanks and Buy Me a Coffee

-Check out my book, How Much More?

-Say hi on socials: TikTok & Instagram

This week on Threshold, I’m sharing a guest post from Abby McDonald. In this episode, Abby reflects on the identity shifts that happen in motherhood and how she rediscovered who she was beyond the title of “mom.”

Whether you're in the trenches of early motherhood or wrestling with who you are now, her story will remind you: your worth isn’t in what you do, but in who God says you are.

✨ Connect with Abby and explore her free “5 Days to Unstuck” challenge at abbymcdonald.org

📖 Her newest book, “Surrendering Certainty,” is available now.

Key Takeaways from this Episode:

🌱 Abby’s personal story of postpartum struggle, identity crisis, and healing after an unexpected birth experience

🌱 The power of praying simple prayers like “Help” in seasons of overwhelm

🌱 How to start reclaiming your identity in Christ—even when you feel like you’ve lost yourself

Resources Mentioned:

Postpartum Support International (PSI) – Support and referrals for postpartum mental health

Risen Motherhood Podcast – Gospel-centered content on motherhood struggles

Ready Nest Counseling – Therapy and support groups for moms (virtual and in-person)

Your local church – Many offer counseling resources and financial support

Your doctor – Check in about your mental and emotional health

You’re not alone. You’re not broken. You’re deeply loved. And healing is possible.

💛 Leave a comment or share this post to thank Abby for her beautiful words.