Most of 1 Chronicles 1–2 reads like an endless list of names, but a few unexpected ones quietly shift the tone. Tamar, Keturah, and Achar don’t follow the usual pattern—and their inclusion hints at something deeper. What do these surprising names reveal about who gets remembered and why?

What happens when ancient poetry just...looks up? In Psalms 8 and 19, wonder isn’t a conclusion—it’s a way of noticing the world without needing all the answers. This post explores how awe, curiosity, and open-ended questions can live side by side in the same breath.

David’s lament for Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1 offers a glimpse into a kind of friendship that feels emotionally deeper than many modern relationships. In a world where marriages were often strategic, friendships could be chosen—and deeply personal. This post reflects on what David and Jonathan’s bond tells us about the emotional landscape of the ancient world.

What does it mean to ask for help when we’re used to doing everything ourselves? Psalm 121 opens with a question that feels surprisingly relevant today—especially in those moments when we’re feeling stuck or unsure. This reflection explores how help sometimes shows up in unexpected ways, often when we finally pause to look up.

When Saul finds himself surrounded by enemies and met with silence from God, he takes a desperate detour to the medium of Endor. This chapter in 1 Samuel is less about judgment and more about what it feels like to be cut off from direction. What do we do when there are no clear answers—and the silence is deafening?

This set of psalms explores two deeply human needs: the desire for safety and the longing for something more than survival. The texts move between calls for rescue and a kind of spiritual thirst that isn’t easily named. It’s a reflection on what we reach for when life feels uncertain.

Abigail doesn’t wield power, but she changes the course of a near-disaster with calm insight and a well-timed peace offering. In a pattern seen throughout ancient stories, a woman quietly steps in where pride and power are about to clash. This post reflects on how wisdom—often overlooked—can be the thing that saves the day.

In a handful of emotionally charged psalms, we find a voice speaking honestly from the depths of fear and isolation. Psalm 142, written from a cave, doesn’t shy away from despair—it leans into it. This reflection explores what it means to stay honest when answers are out of reach.

These five Psalms explore the ongoing tension between righteousness and wickedness—not through abstract ideals, but through lived emotion and real-world complexity. Enemies appear in many forms: some external, others internal, and the contrast between them is rarely clean. What emerges isn't resolution, but a persistent effort to stay grounded in integrity despite the chaos.

Before David was king, he was a fugitive in a cave surrounded by society’s castoffs. 1 Samuel 22 paints a picture of leadership built not on power, but on shared hardship and loyalty. What does it mean when a kingdom begins with the discontented and the indebted?

When jealousy and danger were closing in, David and Jonathan formed a friendship that defied expectations. One was a rising hero; the other, the king’s son—but instead of rivalry, there was loyalty. This story explores what it means to choose connection even when the stakes are high.

Before David faced Goliath, he made a surprising choice—he turned down the king’s armor. It wasn’t a grand gesture, just a quiet decision to stick with what he knew. This moment raises questions about identity, pressure, and how we choose to face challenges in ways that actually fit.

Saul makes a bold and baffling move in 1 Samuel 14—he bans food until evening, nearly derailing a military victory and putting his own son at risk. This blog explores what happens when a leader’s oath goes too far, and how the people around him respond. It’s a story about pressure, power, and the unintended fallout of impulsive decisions.

What kind of peace treaty includes gouging out the right eye of every man? In 1 Samuel 11, Nahash the Ammonite makes a bizarre and brutal demand—and it turns out there’s strategic logic behind it. This story raises questions about power, leadership, and the strange ways history unfolds in the margins of ancient texts.

In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle expecting guaranteed victory—but things don’t go as planned. This story opens up questions about how symbols can lose meaning when used without understanding. What happens when sacred objects become shortcuts instead of signposts?

What happens when leadership fails not through scandal, but through silence? In 1 Samuel 1–3, the story of Eli and his sons unfolds quietly, revealing the consequences of passive authority. As Samuel begins to rise, we're left with questions about responsibility, action, and what it really means to lead.

Naomi’s story in the Book of Ruth often gets overshadowed, but her journey through grief is anything but minor. She speaks openly about her pain, even renaming herself “Mara” to reflect her bitterness. This blog explores what it means to sit with that kind of honesty in a story that offers no easy resolution.

The final chapters of Judges are unsettling and unresolved. Personal choices spiral into national conflict, and the line between justice and harm becomes hard to trace. This blog explores what happens when there's no shared direction—and no one at the helm.