Grateful for Grace

May 2026 Newsletter

This time of year always seems especially busy as we gear up for the end of the school year and look toward the summer. Vacations are being booked, children are getting a bit of spring fever (Ok, adults are too!), and the sun seems to shine a little brighter. As beauty blooms in the flowerbeds and on the trees, many friends have new projects in bloom as well. I’d love to use this month’s newsletter to highlight a few you may find helpful. 💕

My fellow hope*writer and friend, Melissa Winters is launching a podcast on May 6. It is called Joy in Suffering—Where Faith Meets the Hard Places. This podcast was created for women walking through chronic illness, grief, and hard seasons in life. It’s a space for honest conversations about pain and gentle reminders God is still present in the middle of it.

You can check it out on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and follow Melissa on Instagram.

My friend and fellow hope*writer, Mary Grace Johnson’s picture book, And the Sun Came Up, is releasing May 12. Having gone through many trials from the age of 8 years old, Mary Grace knows firsthand how overwhelming life can be when you’re young and hurting. But she also knows the steady, unshakable love of Jesus, the kind of hope that holds you when nothing else makes sense. It’s this hope that carried her through the darkest seasons, and it’s this same hope she now pours into every story she writes.

Through gentle words, relatable characters, and faith-filled truth, Mary Grace aims to help kids know that they are never alone, never forgotten, and always loved by a God who sees them.

Find Mary’s book, And the Sun Came Up, here.

Visit Mary’s website, and follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and Substack.

Christine Wood is a fellow hope*writer and friend. We first met through an online writing group, with whom we continue to meet weekly. Christine helps busy Christian women find rest in God, simplify life, and create space for what matters most. Based in Australia, she has been married for over 30 years and has 3 adult children. Christine was in pastoral ministry for over ten years in a large Baptist church in Brisbane, Australia. But at the end of 2020, she and her husband said goodbye to city life and spent three years in an RV exploring Australia.

Christine’s book, The Burdens We Carry, gently guides Christian women toward the unforced rhythms of grace that Jesus promised. With deep compassion and relatable honesty, she invites readers to examine the cultural, church-based, and self-imposed burdens that keep us stuck — and shows how to lay them down.

Order The Burdens We Carry here. Follow along on Christine’s blog and on Instagram.

Check out The Living With Margins Podcast here. You can also watch for Christine’s guest post on my Substack coming soon!

Angele’ Morris is first and foremost a daughter of God. She is also a devoted daughter, sister, wife and mother. As a licensed professional clinical counselor in North Dakota, Angele’ has spent over a decade walking alongside individuals in some of their darkest moments - offering hope, healing and a path toward the light. With a heat for helping the lost become found, her work is grounded in faith, compassion, and the belief that no story is too broken for redemption.

Nowhere (Now Here): From Lost to Found is the raw and redemptive story of one woman’s journey from spiritual disconnection to healing, freedom, and true presence-the kind that comes only through encountering God.

Through honest reflections and deeply personal stories of trauma and grace, Angelé Morris brings readers into the broken places where everything once felt hopeless. But God met her there-and she believes He’ll meet you there too.

On May 23, I’ll be speaking at the She Did It Scared Masterclass Weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona. Do you live in the area? I’d love for you to join me!

I am available to speak in person or virtually for women’s ministry events, book clubs, and churches. Want to learn more? Check out my media kit found here, and please spread the word by sharing it with your women’s minister!

God,

Your mercies are new each morning. May our eyes and hearts be open to the beauty that abounds in our lives, even when our vision is blurred by the ways of this world.

Keep us grounded in you and ever aware of your presence.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

*Check out this month’s blog series “Open My Eyes” right here on Substack!