About the Author

Monica is a Bible teacher, freelance author, and editor. Her favorite things include thoughtful conversation, lavish grace, young adult literature, babies, watching people walk out in their callings, and also cake. She loves to mentor and be mentored. In her deepest part of her, she loves Jesus. And she loves her family. She and her husband commit large parts of their hearts to their four children and serve together in the children’s ministry at their church. At church, Monica also serves on the Sisterhood Leadership Team where she writes and edits Bible study curriculum, teaches, and encourages women to grow in their devotion to Christ. She also edits and writes for the Bible Reading Plan. But every day, Monica strives to make sure ALL of her heart, soul, mind, and strength are in the hands of Jesus because she knows she is prone to wander. And she’s thankful for kids who keep her from taking herself too seriously.

Growing up, Monica was confused about the role of the church and the person of Jesus, but Jesus never quit pursuing her. God’s love for her, despite her, triumphed over the chaos and brokenness of her past. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and chances are high she will tear up when she recalls the lavish amounts of forgiveness and peace God has given her in His grace and kindness. She is a hugger and a homebody. But mostly, Monica is humbled and thankful to be a daughter in the family of God. Christ alone is her hope and her home.

A Picture of What

“A picture of what” is a quote from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I treasure this book and movie, and it gets quoted a lot in my house. The phrase comes when Atticus Finch compliments an elderly woman in his neighborhood, whom his children fear and despise. He tells her she “looks like a picture” and Scout whispers, “He don’t say a picture of what.” If you’ve read the book, you know that Scout and Jem learn a lot more about Mrs. Dubose in the book than they do in the movie, and they come to find that her insides don’t exactly match her outsides. So much of this beautiful book is about that. “A picture of what” reminds me that God sees me through and through. He’s painted me, in fact. The world won’t always see me clearly, but God does. He not only sees me as I am, but also as what I will be when He’s done with me, and I’m so thankful for that. I hope this blog title keeps me humble. “A picture of what” also evokes the idea of metaphor, though, and God often reveals little lessons to me in the pictures of things in my life. So much of what I write is to process some spiritual truth God’s revealed to me through small encounters, often with odd things like new mattress warning tags and snails. And I want to share these pictures with you.

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