Karilyn Owens
Word of the Year: Cultivate

In the past, I have had words find me — in a serendipitous manner with a lace of intuition. This year was no exception as my favorite poet and artist, Morgan Harper Nichols, created an Instagram Reel of suggested words for the year. A screenshot determined my word this year, but I am certain it was meant for me (even if it were a millisecond between my word and another.)

Word of the Year: Cultivate
Karilyn Owens
Fear of Future

I was clouded with so many fearful thoughts of the future, the what-ifs and I can’ts and worry-mixed-with-doubt. It was hard to gain clarity and even find out the truth in God’s sight: what is the best decision and next-right-thing? If only I could see through the fear, I pondered; what would that feel like? A sigh of relief, a breath of fresh air, and peace? Likely all of the above.

Fear of Future
Karilyn Owens
The Discernment Process

Discernment is a tool in our spiritual arsenal – one of the Holy Spirit gifts to us. It guides us to the will of God, which is to say the best possible outcome for us.

The Discernment Process
open heart, love
Karilyn Owens
Word of the Year: Blossom

This year I choose blossom as my Word because it represents my intention to grow from the roots I planted as a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5) and build back what was broken through the vehicle of relationship.

Word of the Year: Blossom
Karilyn Owens
The Power of Decisions

It was the morning of the most important interview of my career; with emotions running haywire and hormones adding a dizzying effect, I decided that I just couldn't go to my interview that afternoon. The fear shouted so loudly that I couldn't hear the voice of wisdom that knew to show up despite the very big feelings. This was my dream job, after all!

The Power of Decisions

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Self Worth is An Inside Job

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When our self worth is staggeringly lower than it should be, we will go out of our way to prove our worthiness by trying to please others, help them, care for them or worse yet, try to fix their problems. Anything to get validation will suffice. But our true worth will never be filled up in soul satisfying ways until we begin to glean our validation from within.

The only validation we will ever truly succeed in garnering is our own. And we will not feel worthy of any such validation until we turn to the true source, God.

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Love in Action

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It has been one year since I had the blessed opportunity to discover the true meaning of Christmas. I have always been aware of the "reason for the season," yet it wasn't until I stepped away from the truth that I truly realized the deeper meaning of the "spirit" of Christmas: the kind that dwells within all of us, every single minute of the day.

On my search last year to rediscover my spirituality, it occurred to me that no amount of seeking outside of myself would ever uncover the connection I craved. I had been studying Judaism for the better part of the year, and in doing so got further away from my own truth. It was as if I listened to everyone's truth but my own. I have always studied religion and been involved in a variety of experiences outside of my own faith tradition; it was my way of understanding who I am by gathering a plethora of wisdom from throughout the ages.

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Enough Already: How to Choose Peace Over Perfection

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Let's talk about the concept of enough: good enough smart enough pretty enough skinny enough rich enough practical enough. There can never be enough it seems. We have this insatiable desire in this culture to be enough.

But when is enough, enough? Where do we draw the line and say, Ok, enough already? When have you ever said, "I am good enough?"

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Build a Bedrock of Faith

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When our foundation is made of fear and ego-based thoughts, we are more apt to fall through the quicksand of life's eruptions.

After so many sinking moments in my life, I saw that I needed something to hold onto. Hope seemed to only settle my heart momentarily. Because ultimately hope isn't faith. 

Like Jim Carrey says, "Hope is a beggar." It breeds the same kind of fear resistance that our ego loves to hang onto, because it doesn't require any action on our part.