The Golden Edge
A love letter to the beautiful transition from summer to fall and the space of refinement.
On my Heart: Embrace the Crude Metal
The gold in our weakness. Initially written and posted 8/22/25
Tending to my modest garden has brought much joy to my summer. Roasting fresh peppers, enjoying a ripe cherry tomato bursting with the flavor of sunshine, and getting creative with adding cucumbers to every meal.
My mini pumpkins remind me autumn is right around the corner, and there is much to celebrate in each season. I vowed to soak up the summer, and although I followed through, I’m still a little sad to see it go.
My wedding anniversary arrives this time of year, reminding me of the many years I’ve been blessed to celebrate life with my husband and how fast it seems to fly by.
Yet another reminder to slow down and savor.
Savor the good, the bad, and the ugly.
It’s all life.
And it’s all there, ready to be experienced if we limit distractions and take notice.
Take notice of the beauty in painful experiences, and take notice of the fear that sometimes creeps in when we feel so full and grateful that the thought of losing it all takes hold.
If we wait for only the best moments, we miss all the exquisite beauty in the mundane.
You can’t freeze time, but you can pay attention.
On my Heart: Embrace the Crude Metal
The gold in our weakness.
Perhaps we're not "playing small"; with humility, we recognize we are small. As His children our strength and significance are in Him. We are small, we are in the flesh, but when we fix ourselves on Him, we have the Most High on our side. Through His strength, we can do big things. With surrender, we learn to walk with patience instead of trying to control the process, allowing for pruning so we can discover how He wants us to shine. We go from thinking we're visionaries to faithfully serving His vision. We go from doing it for our glory to doing it for His glory. We begin to recognize that what He gives, he can take away, making it crystal clear that it was never us in the first place.
I feel honored that He reminded me of my weakness so that I could learn to honor His strength, lean on His wisdom, and stop falling for any lies and flattery that would pull me from the Truth.
Oh, how I thought I was independent, and my pride kept me from having ears to hear. The foolishness of thinking we are self-made, even if we don't lean on God, we lean on EVERYTHING, yet hold a tween mindset of sovereignty. The number of ecosystems supporting our lives is too vast to fathom.
The fruits of the spirit are like nothing I've experienced before because they are now rooted in Him and not in me. I am an early student and have so much to learn from Him, but I finally know that I am looking to the right teacher. I spent years unknowingly studying impersonators, not realizing how many tried to take bits and pieces from the source and repackage and present them as their own innovations. I extend mercy, recognizing all too well our human instinct to want to be a God rather than follow one.
I pray I stay a student all my days, even when given opportunities to teach. I pray I never forget the breaking that brought me to His strength and to refrain from judging another's sin because it's different than mine. I pray that my zeal does not deter those who are still questioning, and instead allow them the grace and patience He has offered me. I pray I never become the type of follower who thinks it’s my job to tell another how to honor their walk. I pray I remember that type of in-judgement is often what keeps people away from the intimate relationship that awaits them. I pray I stay humbled by all that I don't know, all we don't know, and all that we'll never know. I pray to live in awe of the continued miracles He performs.
I fall, I struggle, I experience growing pains. No doubt I will continue to go through this throughout my life, but I have the well of the living water to replenish my shortcomings and try again each new day. For His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), so I fall at His feet each day, okay with the wild mess I am, because I've given Him my heart and that's all He requires.
With love,
Denise
I wrote this article a while back and figured I’d share it here today. Lots of love.
And a little video I made a few years back for my husband on his birthday. I figured I’d add it to celebrate the anniversary mentioned in the article. Thank you, Shane. For all you are. With love, respect, and devotion, your wife, Denise.
