Outfit Details
100% organic cotton waffle cropped sweater tank (I sized up to a large)
100% organic cotton poplin tiered maxi skirt (I’m wearing a medium)
Italian leather handwoven slouchy shoulder bag (taupe)
Birkenstock Arizona (taupe suede)
About the fit
Lately, I have been playing around with a lighter and a bit more colorful palette. Many of you know that I have five fur babies, and walk doggies as a part time gig. I have been forced to reconsider my penchant for wearing black! Notorious for being elegant, this ebony hue is certainly not posh when covered with fur and lint. A point does come where no amount of vacuuming and lint brushing can manage it all.
When it comes to cats and dogs, my philosophy is more is more so we just wear a little less black now. If you know, you know!
Maxi skirts and dresses have been my favorite length for some time now, but a white cotton tiered number is something different for me! I was very drawn to it on Pinterest, but I wasn’t entirely confident that it would work on me. I’m feeling joyful that I took a chance… I felt great wearing it and I’m confident this light, flowy favorite will be a versatile piece for the spring and summer. Also, I can envision it paired with combat boots or motorcycle boots and a sweater for fall.
The lesson here is… honor what your are drawn to when it comes to personal style. The absolute worst case scenario is you don’t love it, and you return it or sell it on eBay.
About the surrender and break through. All the glory goes to Jesus!
Last but definitely not least, I wanted to share a bit commentary on a breakthrough I’ve experienced recently. This shift came from complete surrender in an area that many might say is not something Jesus is going to be concerned about.
If I’m being honest, I’ve struggled with guilt over blogging about style when there is much brokenness and degradation in this world. I think this is why I vacillate so much with consistency here and on social media. I took years off but didn’t go a day without thinking about sharing my faith and my passion for personal style.
After holding this creative space up in prayer for several years and asking Jesus to show me when and if this is His will for me, I started blogging again in January of 2025. At first I was on fire! Things seemed to be flowing from a place of grace and I felt His hand in it.
Then the usual obstacles came flooding back… the photo lighting issues, life events and family, the guilt. Oh, and a brand new one that I had not imagined in my wildest nightmares… peri-menopause brain fog! If you are not there yet, trust me when I tell you… this is real. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re imagining it. Everyone talks about the hot flashes, but I don’t recall anyone talking about this debilitating mental haze! Now, the enemy obviously loved this. ‘Her faith is an empire… can’t rock that so we’ll take her out with foggy brain.’ Well, guess what satan… Jesus won it all and I am HIS!!!!
Let us back up a smidge. I was stuck. Creativity blocked. Discouraged. Scared that I made the wrong choice to begin again. Feeling guilty. There were moments when I felt like I didn’t deserve to talk with Jesus about it. I must have disobeyed. I must have run ahead of Him.
The key word here is feelings. This is not the voice of my Jesus! This is not the truth. I am loved beyond measure by The King of the universe who is in control of my life. I gave my life to Him and there is not a force on earth or in hell that can reverse that. Not menopause, not the devil!
In the midst of this struggle, I prayed one of my favorite simple, faith filled prayers over and over. “Jesus, I surrender myself and every aspect of my life to you, please take care of everything.” I surrender this blog to you.. direct it or take it away. I waited. I did some behind the scenes work and prayed while I waited.
One of the most daunting obstacles that I was able to work on, while waiting on God, was the lighting and set up for indoor outfit photos. Prior to this surrender novena, I tried everything I could think of in my own strength and the result was unusable photos and more discouragement. The negative thoughts and feelings combined with the brain fog had me giving up on this thing I’ve always wanted to do.
The thing I did differently this time was specifically surrender the blog and content associated with it to Jesus. I’ve surrendered my life and the things I felt were worthy of lifting up to Him daily. The feelings and guilt around blogging rendered me unable to put it in His hands and let Him do whatever He needs to do with it.
Soon after finally giving the blog up to Jesus, I started to get the same message through scripture, my Christian podcasts and literature… our Pastor’s sermons, etc.
Reminders like; Jesus wants to be invited into every part of your life, He bestowed upon you certain gifts because they directly relate to His purpose for your life, He does not ration His gift of the Holy Spirit (John 3:31), Nothing is separate from God.
This theme that spiritual wisdom must be the center of everything I do, and that my ministry is unique and will most certainly stem from my unique, God given gifts and that I should not hide my light (Matthew 5:14) is being confirmed over and over when I seek the wisdom of God. I am aware that Jesus is leading me to let go of all the guilt even if I don’t fully understand where it is coming from.
Also, that surrender to Him must happen every day… in every moment and decision. We can’t just do it once and then move along in the flesh. We can not carry out the will of God acting in the flesh. Abiding in Him requires daily seeking and surrendering. And, yes… this does apply to a faith and style blog! We must never limit God or try to decide what or who He will use to save souls.
This post contains links to shop pieces in my wardrobe. I promise these are my favorite tried and true wardrobe staples. If you purchase from these links I will make a small commission at no cost to you.
