Where Are We Headed?

We're celebrating 5 years of Lamp & Light! God is so faithful. Here's some reflection on where we've been and where we're headed.

I’ve learned to say Lord willing.

It was a hard lesson for me to learn. Really hard, actually. It’s a lesson I’ve learned since having kids. Sometimes it’s been as simple as missing out on meeting up with friends, and sometimes it’s been pretty life-altering.

Four kids and a few moves in a couple short years (or were they long? 😅) brought me a new sense of God’s timing—even when He wills something to happen.

If you’ve used That It May Go Well you probably know that I didn’t intend to write curriculum, and I certainly don’t consider myself highly qualified to do so. By God’s grace we’ve kept at it.

I suppose this may end up being a little of a mix between a life update and a testimony?

To start—THANK YOU to all of you! I never imagined getting emails with testimonies of how God told you to search this or that and led you right to TMGW. I never thought about how He would use what He wanted us to make. It was just such a big “yes” I thought of little except, “How on earth are we even going to do this?!”

(No chance with only “earthly” abilities that we ever could have! 🙃 May the Lord always get the glory!)

Anyway, the testimonies that have blessed me the most are the moms who have reached out to share how the Lord led them here—Wow! I’m humbled, honored, and amazed! God, who calls us to His purposes, has a plan for every part of the story. Living through walking out the Lord’s calling is unexplainably more amazing than words can describe. I hope that you join in obeying whatever the Lord has called you to—it IS worth it!

I’m going to rewind a few years…

In December 2020, right at the darkest time of year in Alaska, the Lord encouraged my heart towards what was next. I had been a hairstylist for 10 years, had 3 kids, and we closed our shop when COVID hit. I was so thankful to be home and homeschooling. I wanted to stay home with our kids. I just found that when I was done homeschooling, cleaning the house, and doing all the necessary things, I had so much time. Nothing was going on—you remember how it was—lots of staying home! I needed the Lord to give me something to do. And He did! Lamp and Light Merchandise was born. I made Alaska birch bark earrings, created a website, and got on Instagram. There's lots I could elaborate on... My biggest question at that point was, “Why does Satan hate birch bark earrings so much?” The spiritual opposition I could feel to starting Lamp and Light was astounding. I mean sure, I had Bible verses on our packaging... But I had certainly had more of an impact at our hair salon, Unfading Beauty, talking to people about Jesus. I am not sure theologically if Satan knows more than we do? I really can't give you a certain answer Biblically, but I can tell you experientially that the attacks against starting “this” were real. It was a lot of little nudges and adjustments that led to where we are now. It all started with our neighbor girl and wanting to make a little Bible study I could invite her to do with me... That is our mini study Fruitful Abiding. It was my first “yes” to the Lord in the realm of making a “book,” however mini it may be. It was the experience I needed to know that when you say “yes” to the Lord, the Holy Spirit supernaturally helps you! Anyway, let's follow the timeline of TMGW. :)

Cycle 1 of TMGW launched in the fall of 2022.

Right about the time I was finishing the first Cycle, I felt like my life was imploding. Our marriage was in trouble. A door had just slammed shut for us to move north—where we always thought we wanted to go. Lots of things felt really challenging.

In the time of waiting for the printed Cycle 1 books to arrive, we split up for a couple weeks. I mean, it was rough. It didn’t feel possible that it could be that rough, that bad off. I was trying with my whole heart to follow the Lord, to trust Him for everything He had promised... But, boy, was it hard. Praise the Lord, He didn’t leave it like that! Through an absolute miracle, God saved our family. He fulfilled promises years in the making. Through a very hard season, He had a plan. It is astounding and amazing to me, even to this day!!

He never fails. God NEVER fails. He is faithful through and through. When the Lord speaks, He is good for what He says—believe Him! There’s hard work that follows, and there has been for us, but He is good.

I wish I could sit down and give you every detail, but now isn’t the time. To sum it up in a nutshell, the Lord made it abundantly clear that we needed to sell our house and move as we reunited as a family. The very day our family was back home and preparing to sell our house, we received our printed Cycle 1 books in the mail!

Thinking of this day still makes me smile and have praise in my heart for the Lord! It may have been the moment “God ALWAYS keeps His promises!” came alive to me. I had trusted the Lord through some very hard processes that seemed beyond my ability on many levels, and He did not fail me. He never left me or forsook me. Every promise He has ever made to me, He has kept. Everything He has called me to do, He has equipped me for.

Our house sold in a day. God was in the details, and we knew it was His resounding YES to us that this was the way we were to go.

I won’t sugarcoat it for you.

The next season had challenges of its own. 😅

We left stability, and in the process found out we were expecting a surprise 4th baby. We moved multiple times. Many days it felt like a sacrifice to have said “yes” to God once again. In the process, I knew He was giving me another promise for our next home. We had no idea how long it would take, but we had to trust Him through interest rates skyrocketing, house prices rising, and no open doors. I said to Chad several times, “We cannot stop trusting God now!” I knew that if we started walking on water with Jesus, we had to keep believing Him for the impossible. Sinking was the other option!

In this season, the Lord asked me to give up Instagram, where I was pretty active for a season. It was hard. And sad. And I knew it was what God wanted. For all of the downfalls of social media, I made some sweet friends there… I actually cried the day I gave it up! I wasn’t sure if I would get to return. But I think, perhaps, I knew in the pit of my stomach that, no, I wouldn’t get to.

It is the best and scariest place to be—putting all of your eggs in the basket of trusting the Lord. Remember, all of it belongs to Him anyway. Give Him what He deserves, and He can and will multiply your seed for sowing and provide for you.

A fun TMGW fact… each of the Cycles were written while we lived in a different place. I know some families make a habit of moving often. We had not been one of those families until that season. It makes my head spin to think about it!

We moved 3 times in 14 months and had a baby in that time!

The Lord miraculously threw open the door for us to buy a home again—Wow, did He fulfill His promises once again!! We moved three hours south, away from family, into the place the Lord has for us. It was exciting and scary (I mean scary… we had to drive through a mountain pass with snow deeper than my car in the middle of winter to get here 🏔️❄️… I was born and raised in Alaska, and this kind of driving still isn’t my cup of tea!).

But, on a serious note, it has been a huge blessing. It has also stretched us at times. Most of all, it has made me so thankful every single day. I’m so thankful for what the Lord has given us and where He has placed us. Again and again, He has given us favor and has fulfilled His promises to us in this place!

Once we were settled in our new home, I knew He was asking us to do more with TMGW/Lamp & Light.

I had expected to coast through Cycle 3. 🙈

I thought we had most of the hard work done. But the Lord had other plans! I can’t say that He hadn’t alluded to this for us… He had. He had given us vision, but often we can’t wrap our minds around it until He allows us to. Often, I find, He gives us glimpses of what He has for us and doesn’t allow the full picture to come into focus until His time.

Through this time, some of our greatest joys and biggest challenges have come through other believers. Sometimes it takes life—tough life—for Scripture to really come alive to us. I’ve realized as I’ve grown older and walked through more things that not every Bible story is perfect; neither are our lives. In fact, only Jesus was perfect, and His earthly life was riddled with things we would find very hard to endure. Hatred, persecution, torture, and death. We’ve all failed and fallen short of the glory of God. We have to live on this earth and try to serve Jesus with other imperfect people. This I know: God never fails. People will fail you; God will not. Press on toward the goal. Live for the Lord’s “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”Philippians 3:14, NIV

God has certainly used precious people to lift our arms! For every challenge, He has sent us a greater blessing. I would like to share a few testimonies of this with you that pertain to TMGW.

Shortly after launching Cycle 1 of TMGW in the fall of 2022, I left Instagram. A few hundred people had downloaded the books at that time, and we were enjoying using them. I thought, “Well, Lord, if this is all it ever is—thank You! We love this, and maybe it blessed a few people.” Leaving IG took out any “platform” we had to tell anyone about TMGW.

Fast forward to spring. I was sitting at home with our kids, enjoying life, and there was a day—I believe in March or April of 2023—when suddenly TMGW began to be downloaded TONS! I was astounded! What had happened?! I knew I certainly had done nothing, and I couldn’t figure it out. Where were these people coming from? Who told them? Had someone shared it? I was praising the Lord and praying blessings on whoever was helping to get the word out! Within the next couple weeks, a dear sister in Christ, Nichola, reached out to me… She shared TMGW far and wide on Facebook! We had never been active on Facebook for TMGW, yet suddenly homeschool groups were finding out about TMGW! What a tremendous blessing!

I was in awe that the Lord could share this thing without a bit of help from me! 😂

He allowed me to quietly enjoy using TMGW with our kids, survive my 4th pregnancy, move a couple times, AND He took care of the marketing?! How like our Good Father!

What’s more, sweet Nichola prayed for us! I wasn’t sure if there would be a Cycle 2. I loved homeschooling this way and could hardly stand the thought of going back to anything else. But I just didn’t know about more…

The Lord did. Through these circumstances and a phone call with Nichola, where she powerfully prayed for me, I knew the Lord was going to somehow see Cycle 2 through. He did. We had a baby in the middle of the summer, and somehow, by the grace of God, Cycle 2 was born too!

Initially, we paid for all things Lamp & Light through our business making earrings and other Alaskan products. With our departure from IG and a slowdown at the shops in town, I was having a very hard time justifying paying an editor for Cycle 2. Chad has graciously allowed us to personally (by personally, I mean he works VERY hard) foot the bill for Lamp & Light. Websites, domains, and the works aren’t cheap. However, paying an editor felt too far for me at that point. I was crying out to the Lord. I knew I had to work on Cycle 2, but the thought of sending it out to all of you unedited… Well, let’s just say, I’m sure you’ve found a typo or two in this post! I’m oh so very thankful for those who have an eye for details that my brain skips as it focuses on the whole picture!

Anyway, the Lord told me to trust Him. If only I could count all of the times He has said just that, “Trust Me. TRUST ME!”

I’m fairly sure I prayed, nearly exactly, “Lord, You know that people do not just email you offering to edit! So, I really ought to do something!”

I think the Lord really has a sense of humor… Perhaps He was like, “Really? Watch this!”

Sara, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! Not just for the hours and hours you’ve put into TMGW, but for obeying the Lord. At times when I’ve doubted, this has been something the Lord has brought me back to. Our editor, Sara, surely did email me out of the blue and offer to edit!!

You just can’t make these things up. When you live them out, you live in awe of all that the Lord can and does do! I want for each of you to live moments like this on the regular. My heart overflows with thanks to Him for letting us live this story out with Him! This process has been about so much more than just homeschooling or curriculum for us. It's been faith-building in many ways. God can do all that He says He can do!

Our most recent testimony on this front is Allison. She had edited for a friend of mine and reached out to offer that she would edit for me if needed. What she didn’t know is that through her encouragement, the Lord nudged me towards a 6th–8th Grade Workbook (coming soon with our Rainbow Program). Allison taught 7th grade, and she opted to use our 4th–5th grade workbook for her 7th grader, with a few modifications. She felt that the 4th–5th workbook could be used through 8th grade. That was just the encouragement I needed for the Lord to solidify that we were growing to older levels. I still didn’t feel equipped. If you want to know the truth, I still don’t! Somehow the Lord keeps working miracles in our “yes”!

Allison also did a beautiful flip-through of Cycle 2 if you want to check that out here! https://youtu.be/wz8oWaW8ch8

I’m excited for you to have older levels. Many of you have requested this, and I am so excited we will get to offer it!

When will the Rainbow Homeschooling be ready? Only the Lord knows! Sara and I both homeschool our own children, and we're busy mamas. As she edits, I am working to make the books extend to all of the Color Years. Currently, at the end of 2025, we are over halfway done with the books. Yay! Praise the Lord! My sincere hope is that this will be ready to use for the '26-'27 school year.

The Rainbow program will take the place of what was going to be called Cycle 3. Lord willing, it will allow you to read the entire Bible chronologically with your children over the course of the program! Shortly before leaving IG, I had the desire to do a Bible plan to read through the Bible in a year. I had started working on this and had a few resources to that end. In some ways, I feel like I quit something in the middle with this. However, as the Lord has shifted me and brought things into focus, I feel He has finally shown us clearly how to combine these projects He put on my heart. Promises Family Bible Plan and TMGW Rainbow will work together! There are some details about this on our website, with other info to come.

To the many precious moms who have reached out to us with encouragement—THANK YOU!

Many times the Lord has encouraged me tremendously through you. I know you’re busy—many of you have more kids than I do, and you homeschool… that is a busy life! Your kind words have blessed me and my family more than you know. To the friends I’ve made through this process, thank you! My heart is filled with joy when I think of all the ways the Lord has worked in this season. I’m so grateful!!

There have been growing pains as we go… often I look at the lists of what needs to be done, and it can feel overwhelming. The details that go into making curriculum a reality… whew! Plus, websites and technology and all the things.

Many times my hopes and ideas outsize what actually ends up happening. I often feel like Gideon… my “army” is ideas and plans. The Lord reduces them down to the 300 He actually wants to use! Sometimes it feels like a messy process. May He always get the glory for any victory He ever gives! We don't want to “win” on this earth, but lose in God’s eyes. The battle belongs to the Lord, and He will win! Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord! May we all use our time, energy, talents, and effort to partner with the Lord to share the truth about Jesus—starting in our own homes and beyond!

Undoubtedly, we will face more challenges as we walk with the Lord. You will too. I am learning to anticipate the miracle the Lord will provide when things get tough! He is, after all, the God who parts seas, causes walls to fall, closes the mouths of lions, stills the storm, and raises the dead! You and I can both trust in the Lord’s unfailing, never-ending love and faithfulness. Know that, Lord willing, when you hold TMGW Rainbow in your hands, we don’t just say that God always keeps His promises—we have lived it!! We mean it!! He didn’t just keep promises to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and more; He has kept them to us, and He will keep them to you too!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”Psalm 119:105