Known, Guarded, and Still Becoming

As the Day Ends

“O LORD, you have searched me and known me… I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” — Psalms 139:1, 14

As the day draws to a close, our minds often replay conversations, decisions, and moments we wish we could revise. Evening has a way of softening our defenses, allowing doubts and self-criticism to surface. Into that vulnerable space, Psalm 139 speaks with gentle authority. David reminds us that God’s knowledge of us is not observational alone, but relational. The Hebrew verb yadaʿ—“to know”—carries the sense of intimate, personal knowing. God does not merely register our actions; He understands the motives beneath them, the fears we carry, and the hopes we rarely articulate. When Scripture says He knows when we sit and when we rise, it declares that no part of our ordinary life escapes His attentive care.

This truth challenges a common lie whispered at the end of the day: that we are unseen, misunderstood, or alone with our failures. The psalm insists otherwise. God hems us in—behind and before—an image suggesting protection rather than confinement. His hand upon us is not the weight of judgment, but the assurance of presence. Shame tells us to hide from such knowledge; faith invites us to rest in it. David dares to say that God’s complete knowledge of him is “wonderful,” not terrifying. That adjective signals something beyond comprehension yet deeply comforting. As we prepare for rest, this truth steadies the soul: nothing about us is a surprise to God, and nothing we carry into the night places us outside His care.

The opening exhortation—refusing to let the enemy pluck away the seeds God has planted—finds its grounding here. Seeds of truth take root best in soil free from accusation and fear. When we rehearse self-loathing, we cultivate the wrong field. Psalm 139 redirects our attention from inner critics to divine craftsmanship. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” is not positive self-talk; it is theological confession. The word yareʾ (“fearfully”) conveys reverence, suggesting intentional design, while palaʾ (“wonderfully”) speaks of something set apart, extraordinary. To affirm this is not arrogance; it is agreement with God’s declaration over His creation. As the Church Calendar often reminds us—especially in seasons emphasizing repentance and renewal—true rest comes not from self-improvement, but from trusting God’s faithful gaze.

Triune Prayer

Father, You who know me completely, I come to You at the end of this day without pretense. You have seen every moment I have lived today—the words spoken, the thoughts unspoken, the emotions I barely understood myself. Thank You that Your knowledge of me is not condemning but compassionate. Forgive me for the ways I have turned that inward knowledge into self-judgment rather than trust. Help me to rest tonight in the truth that I am fully known and still fully loved. Lay Your hand upon me, not as a reminder of my shortcomings, but as a sign of Your faithful presence surrounding my life.

Jesus, Son of Man and Christ, You stepped into human vulnerability and carried it all the way to the cross. You know what it is to be misunderstood, accused, and weary at the close of the day. I thank You that through You I do not have to fear being exposed before God. Where shame has tried to define me today, remind me that You have already spoken a better word over my life. Teach me to release the weight of self-reproach and to receive the rest You promise to those who come to You weary and burdened. Let my confidence rest not in my performance, but in Your finished work.

Holy Spirit, Comforter and Spirit of Truth, dwell with me as I prepare for sleep. Quiet the voices that would uproot the seeds God has planted in my heart. Where anxiety lingers, breathe peace. Where lies have taken hold, gently replace them with truth. Cultivate belief within me—not shallow optimism, but deep trust that takes root and grows over time. Guide my thoughts toward gratitude and hope, and prepare my heart to awaken tomorrow with renewed confidence in God’s faithful care.

Thought for the Evening

Before you sleep, release self-judgment and consciously entrust your unfinished thoughts and emotions to God, choosing to rest in the truth that you are fully known and lovingly held.

For further reflection on Psalm 139 and God’s intimate knowledge of His people, see this article from Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/articles/psalm-139-gods-intimate-knowledge/

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Born With Him

When Christ’s Nativity Becomes Our New Beginning

As the Day Begins

Selected Scriptures: Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:22; 2:5–6; 4:15; Colossians 1:18

The Church calendar draws our hearts again toward the mystery of the Incarnation, not merely as a historical remembrance but as a living reality that continues to shape the people of God. Leo the Great captured this truth with striking clarity when he wrote that “the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body.” His words remind us that Christmas is not only about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem but about the birth of a redeemed people who find their life in Him. Scripture repeatedly testifies that what happens to Christ happens, by grace, to those who are united to Him. The apostle Paul declares, “Our old self was crucified with Him” (Romans 6:6), using the Greek word synestaurōthē, meaning “crucified together,” emphasizing shared participation rather than distant observation.

This union with Christ is not symbolic sentiment but spiritual reality. Paul’s confession, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20), reveals a life no longer governed by self-originated identity. The Church, described as Christ’s sōma (body), receives life from its kephalē (head), as Ephesians 1:22 proclaims: “He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church.” Just as a body does not exist independently of its head, so the Church draws its life, purpose, and direction from Christ alone. His birth initiates not only redemption’s story but also the Church’s own existence as a living organism in God’s redemptive design.

Leo’s insight presses us further, reminding us that though believers are separated by time and circumstance, they are gathered into one shared story. Paul writes that God “made us alive together with Christ… and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:5–6). The Greek verb syzōopoieō—“made alive together”—carries communal force. In Christ’s nativity, His life enters history; in our baptism and faith, that same life enters us. Christmas, then, becomes deeply personal. The Child in the manger is also the risen Lord who incorporates us into His death, resurrection, and exaltation. To awaken to this truth at the start of the day is to step into life already anchored in Christ’s victory and sustained by His living presence.

Triune Prayer

Heavenly Father, as this day opens before me, I give thanks that You are the author of life and the giver of new birth. I praise You for sending Your Son into the world so that humanity might be gathered back into Your heart. Thank You for not leaving me bound to my old self but for including me in Christ’s death and resurrection. Shape my thoughts and actions today so that they reflect the reality that my life is hidden with Christ. Grant me humility to remember that I do not belong to myself, and courage to live as one who has been raised to new life by Your gracious will.

Jesus the Son, I honor You as the Head of the Church and the source of my life. Thank You for entering history through the humility of birth and redeeming it through obedience, sacrifice, and love. As You live within me, teach me to surrender daily, to let Your life be seen through my words, my decisions, and my compassion for others. Help me walk in the truth that Your resurrection power is already at work within me. May I grow up into You in all things, as Scripture calls me to do, bearing witness to Your life through faithful obedience.

Holy Spirit, I welcome Your presence as the One who makes union with Christ real and active in my life. Breathe wisdom into my choices today and remind me when I forget who I am in Christ. Strengthen me when weakness tempts me to live from my old nature rather than my new identity. Guide me gently into truth, shaping my heart so that it remains receptive to Your leading. Let Your transforming work continue within me, that I may live as one truly born from above.

Thought for the Day

Because Christ lives, I live—and today I choose to act, speak, and love as one whose life is inseparably joined to His.

Thank you for beginning your day in God’s presence and allowing His Word to shape your walk.

For further reflection on union with Christ and the nature of the Church, see “Union with Christ” from Desiring God:
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/union-with-christ

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Six years old.

They say he’s the reborn soul of a sacred master.

And now his life belongs to someone else's prophecy.

You won't forget this one. 🧘‍♂️💔

👉 https://brewminate.com/the-story-of-padma-angdu-tibetan-buddhist-rinpoche

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Christianity and Brujería Coexistence Through Storytelling: The Ordinary Bruja

Welcome to My 5:30 AM Super Secret Writing Sessions…

It’s quiet. The kind of quiet where thoughts rise to the surface unbothered, where truth bubbles up with the steam of morning cafecito. It’s in these sacred hours before the world wakes up that I find myself face to face with the deepest parts of me—and the stories that demand to be told.

One of those stories is The Ordinary Bruja.

This novel has been a long time coming. Not just because it blends magical realism, psychological horror, and Dominican ancestral memory, but because it finally gave me the space to write about something I’ve carried quietly for so long: the complicated relationship between Christianity and Brujería. And how, despite what many have been told, they can coexist.

Kia, Marisol, and the Argument I’ve Always Wanted to Have

For years, I’ve felt this inner tug-of-war. I was raised with Christian values, but my soul has always whispered to the spirits of my ancestors. I’ve pulled cards for clarity. I’ve lit candles for strength. I’ve spoken to energies older than scripture. And still, I find myself saying amen. Still, I find peace in both paths.

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But I never had the words, the room, or the character to show that contradiction—until Kia.

Kia is Marisol’s best friend in The Ordinary Bruja, and she represents what I’ve always hoped to portray: a belief system grounded in Christianity, yet open enough to sit at the same table with Brujería. Through Kia, I was finally able to hold a conversation between two worlds that people often treat like they have to be at war.

She doesn’t practice brujería, but she respects that Marisol does. That’s the coexistence. That’s the magic. Not in forced agreeance or conversion, but in the sacred art of acknowledgement. Of recognizing someone else’s truth without diminishing your own.

Faith Doesn’t Have to Be a Battlefield

So many spiritual practices rooted in Indigenous, African, and diasporic cultures have been demonized by organized religion. We see it all the time—the way Christian spaces turn their back on brujas, curanderas, espiritistas. But what if we shifted the conversation?

What if spirituality, like identity, isn’t a binary?

The Ordinary Bruja is my love letter to that idea. It’s a novel about reclaiming what’s been lost or shamed. About realizing that magic—whether it comes from prayer or spellwork—has always been within you. Marisol doesn’t just wake up to her ancestral power. She wakes up to herself.

And I want you to witness that journey.

Request an ARC. Read it. Share it. Let’s Start the Conversation.

If you’re drawn to stories that:

• Blend #LatineFiction with ancestral memory and magical realism
• Tackle identity, belonging, and intergenerational trauma
• Explore the sacred tension between Christianity and Brujería
• Center strong female friendship and cultural reclamation
• Ask what it really means to come home to yourself

Then The Ordinary Bruja was written with you in mind.

ARC requests are open. Early readers are already calling it one of the Must-Read Books of 2025. And I believe that, with your help, we can create the kind of word-of-mouth momentum that helps stories like this reach the people who need them most.

This is more than a novel. It’s a return to self.

Don’t forget to ask for it. Don’t forget to read it. And please, help me spread the word.

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