finding your inspiration

Life is almost never butterflies and rainbows. As a pastor, I often hear it said that things “used to be” better.

Before COVID.

Before 9/11.

Before Vietnam, the Cold War, the Great Depression and WWII. Before the rise of gas prices and the fall of stock markets. Everything was better before social media, fast food, and Millennials took over. Before Tylenol was invented (wait, no, not that one. That one definitely improved things!).

Things “used to be” so much better…but were they?

The reality is that our world has been plagued by darkness since long before any of us can remember. Since long before any of us lived and breathed and walked this earth, darkness has been spreading.

Our Inspired Hearts exists to be a light in that darkness.

This blog began as a place for sharing my thoughts with the world, and it transformed through my college career to a book blog, a relationship blog, and, most popularly, a Harry Potter blog.

All of those things are good, beautiful things that still inspire my heart. However, as time has passed, the passions that move me along have shifted, grown, and changed in their own magical ways.

After a long hiatus from writing amidst the pandemic, Our Inspired Hearts is back again with renewed spirit and a new fire burning: to remind souls that there is light in the darkness, and that as long as this light persists, the darkness cannot overcome it.

Our hearts are all inspired by something.

My heart is inspired most by the night sky and back roads, song and the written word. The best days, for me, start late and end late and are overflowing with genuine community and conversation. I thrive on creating; stringing together words in a new way, capturing moments in time on my camera, and freezing memories through designing digital artwork are just some of the things that bring my heart to life.

Sometimes I’m so drawn to the stars that I cry. As a kid, Orion was the only constellation I could find. These days when I’m outside at night, I automatically turn toward to Orion, and somehow, it centers me. It inspires me. It brings goosebumps to the surface of my skin.

The stars are filled with stories of the unknown. They draw me in and hold me close, because stories are what make up our lives.

My heart is most inspired by story.

We all have stories. For the rest of my life, I want to hear stories and, in turn, tell them. That, friends, is a good life for me. I even inked it upon my skin, a lovely quote from Doctor Who.

We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?

– Eleven

It’s stories that get me out of bed in the morning. But what about you? What inspires your heart? Join me in the journey, and you may just find the answer to the question.

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