Letter from the CEO

I’ve never liked pumpkin spice lattes. I feel this a dangerous confession at the beginning of September when scents of pumpkin and cinnamon find you around every corner.   But, I’m a summer girl. I like going inside at 8:30pm after a full day of swimming, gardening, and catching lightning bugs with little sunburn on […]

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father. —James 1:17 (CSB) I’m writing to you this month because our CEO is taking time to be with her wonderful new gift—a newborn son.  In this season of hot days, my thoughts keep going to the first word in James 1:17: Every.

Birthdays make me reflective. June holds three out of the soon-to-be five birthdays in my family. With each greeting card, I get the twinge of reflection on the past year and the optimistic dreaming about the year ahead. June is also the month GraceWorks concludes our fiscal year and prepares for a new year ahead—a

Weakness is never the goal. Humans are wired to celebrate strength, winners, those who are on top. But we physically come into the world very weak. Humans enter the world particularly vulnerable compared to the natural world. Our babies are born completely dependent on their mothers for food and mobility. Meanwhile, baby elephants are walking

My grandpa died suddenly when I was 13, and my grandma moved in with us. I had a front-row seat to watching a grieving widow learn how to put one foot in front of the other as she started a new life without the man who had loved and cared for her since she was

Last Easter morning, I heard the swirl of fast little feet as my children bounded downstairs and began negotiating who could open the oven door. Their voices were more rushed than their average groggy morning—filled with anticipation of something exciting. Sister opened the door to see a cookie sheet with a dozen white fluffy blobs

As I draft this letter, it is January 29th. I am looking out my window into an icy landscape that is glittering as the sun comes up. It looks peaceful and beautiful.  However, as I drive out of my neighborhood, I see trees fallen under the heavy weight of this ice. They have fallen on

This year could be a doozy. Something about it already feels different. GraceWorks feels richly rooted, yet on the edge of some significant unknowns. Some big unknowns of 2026: The Thrift Store might expand! This would be a huge answered prayer because revenue from the store not only completely covers our audited overhead, it also

My little girl went through a few years where using her voice took a lot of bravery. It wasn’t natural for her, and she needed encouragement to speak up for herself. You better believe that every time she uttered the softest word my chest would swell with pride! I’d give her a big hug and

Whenever I watch an elite musician or an athlete, I often contemplate the level of dedication to their craft—the discipline, the commitment, the grit it took to perform at their level is always inspiring. But I confess, I also attribute their success to a good deck. They were dealt a hand that predisposed them to