NBrynn: About

One of the only things I know for sure is this: You have a story to tell. And so do I.

I spent over a decade of my life devoted to very conservative, fundamentalist Christianity. When my first son was taken away and God seemed uninterested in intervening, my world fell apart. Today, I consider it one of life's greatest blessing that I had the gumption to stand my ground - in the mirky waters of questioning and grief, of uncertainty and discontent with all the religious answers I was being given at the time - and wait on something better. This blog is all about my journey toward, and discovery of, that something better, through writing and connecting with others in that vulnerable, open space. I'd be honored if you walk beside me for a moment.

I'm a SAHM, a small business owner and a firm believer in human goodness. After two years of loving and laboring, I published my first book in the Fall of 2015! One Slender Thread is currently available for purchase at Amazon. I love planning and hosting parties, cooking good food with friends and winding down with a book or my soft pastels & art journal. I currently write monthly for All Things With Purpose and An Inch of Gray. I have also been featured at The Phoenix Soul and A Sacred Journey. My husband and I live in Columbus, Ohio with our two children, Kyler (4) and Havyn (3). We recently started the adoption process again and have been matched with a baby boy from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Our family, minus the littlest guy still a million miles away.

Looking for all the gory details?! Here's a longer version of my story...

I was born the second of five children in a suburb of Atlanta, GA. My childhood included the some of the usuals: sibling rivalries, academic achievements, bullying, alcoholism, playing outside for hours and endless dieting. I became a Christian at age 12 and, always a perfectionist and people-pleaser, soon began reordering my life to fit what I saw as the Christian ideal. I stopped listening to secular music, stopped watching TV altogether, stopped dating, lead Bible studies and service groups, went on missions trips, prayed for hours a day.

I completed a year-long Christian leadership internship following high school, traveled for missionary work to India, Germany, Czech Republic and Thailand and worked on staff with my community church for two years. A few years ago, my husband, Daniel, and I lived in Thailand for two years working with a local church and serving in foster care. To many, I became the Christian ideal.

But over the years, I found myself silencing questions, wrestling with depression and dissatisfaction and wondering if this was it? I struggled with constant guilt and a feeling of not enough. My world was narrow and tight. Things really came to a head when we were betrayed by the Thai church we had moved to work with and had our foster son taken away. In a short period of time, I lost my friends, my dreams, my son…and then my faith.

I spent the next three years living in dark, murky waters. Somedays, the waters are still quite murky. But they are glimmering with rays of sunlight and through writing and connecting with others in that vulnerable, open space, I am finding my soul emerging from it all, stronger and more alive than ever before. And after two years of loving and laboring in the journey of storytelling, I published my first book in the Fall of 2015! One Slender Thread is currently available for purchase at Amazon.

I'm a SAHM, a small business owner and a firm believer in human goodness. I love planning and hosting parties, cooking good food with friends and winding down with a book or my soft pastels & art journal. I currently write monthly for All Things With Purpose and An Inch of Gray. I have also been featured at The Phoenix Soul and A Sacred Journey. My husband and I live in Columbus, Ohio with our two children, Kyler (4) and Havyn (3). We recently started the adoption process again and have been matched with a baby boy from the Democratic Republic of Congo.