faith musings

Completely Known, Completely Loved

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
Each night before bed, I try to offer a prayer of gratitude. As I reflect on the blessings of the day, my thoughts often turn to something much greater than the things I have been given. I find myself overwhelmed by the reality that my Heavenly Father knows me perfectly—the good, the bad, the weaknesses, the mistakes, the fears, and the struggles—and yet He loves me completely. The more I think about the gift of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, the more grateful I become for a love that I cannot fully comprehend but deeply feel. 

Completely Known, Completely Loved

My dear Father in Heaven,
I love You without question.
I feel Your love with me through my day,
And feeling that amount of love is more than I can say.

Knowing that You love me so much
Helps me feel hope through Your Heavenly Touch.
But then I remember who I really am on the inside,
And I wonder why with me, You choose to reside.

Father, I am so flawed and weak 
That I don’t know why to me, You want to speak.
You know the thoughts and intents of my heart,
And You know that from You I never want to depart.

You love me so much that You sacrificed Your Beloved Son,
So that through Him, I can again be with You when this life is done.
I can’t imagine the amount of love You give to me,
But I can feel Your love every time I come to You on bended knee.

Please, Father, help me overcome all of my weaknesses that weigh me down 
Because I feel so flawed and overwhelmed that I think I might drown.
Even though I can’t imagine why You love me as much as You do,
Help me to feel hope in my soul so that I can see myself from Your Loving View.

The Takeaway: God's love is not based on our perfection. He knows us completely and loves us completely. Through Jesus Christ, our weaknesses, mistakes, and shortcomings do not have the final say. As we sincerely strive to repent, improve, and follow Him, His grace makes up the difference. Sometimes the greatest blessing to be grateful for is simply being loved by God.

Watch my YouTube short on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1ZGOPLbYMg

Pulling Up a Closer Chair: A New Look for Our Space!

/ Christine Maynor / 4 Comments

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

My new home office space complete with a healthy snack!

Community Conversations

The Backstory: Recently, I realized that as this digital home has grown to over 300 poems and reflections, it was becoming a little too easy for my latest writings to get tucked away where readers couldn’t easily find them. After a sweet conversation this week, I felt prompted to open the front door a little wider. I wanted to make sure that the moment you step into this space, you are met instantly with fresh words of peace and comfort, without having to search for them.

A Welcome to the New Layout: If you’ve visited the website today, you might notice things look a little more spacious! I’ve rearranged our digital living room to make it more reader-friendly for you.

Our Homepage is now a live, breathing feed of my five most recent posts. No more digging or clicking through layers—the newest poetry, backstories, and daily musings will always be sitting right at the very top, waiting for you.

For those who are new or want to revisit some foundational pieces, I have combined my welcome pages into a single main menu link at the top called Start Here. When you hover over it, you’ll easily find Explore My Writing and The Heart of This Space. It’s a simple, uncluttered map designed to help you find exactly what your soul needs today.

The Takeaway: Growth is a quiet, holy process of refining—not just in our hearts, but in the spaces we build to connect with one another. I am so incredibly grateful to share this journey of faith, poetry, and healing with you. Thank you for walking with me, for pulling up a chair, and for making this space a true refuge.

💬 To My Subscribers: How does the new layout feel to you as you look around? Is it easier to find a place to rest today? Please reply or leave a comment below and let me know—I would love to hear your thoughts and welcome you to our new setup!

The Beauty of Every Note

/ Christine Maynor / 5 Comments

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
I have always loved music, especially the piano. I recently read this quote by Suzy Kassem: “Life is like a piano. White Keys are happy moments and the black ones are sad moments. Both keys are played together to give us the sweet music called Life.” That quote stayed with me because it reflects so much on mortality. A piano would not be complete without both the white and black keys, and our lives would not become what they are meant to be without both joy and sorrow. Sometimes the difficult moments in life feel sharp and painful, like the flats and sharps in music, but they add depth, growth, and meaning to our story. This writing came from reflecting on how Heavenly Father sees the entire composition of our lives while we often only see one difficult measure at a time. 

The Beauty of Every Note

The piano is a beautiful instrument of music,
With all of its keys we can produce pure magic.
All the white and black keys are permanently connected
But without the other, the piano would never be perfected.

Joy and sorrow in this life walk side by side
Without the darkness, light is easily denied.
Though sharps and flats may cast a heavy shadow,
The white keys keep our journey deep, not shallow.

There may seasons of waiting for a prayer,
When the heart feels shattered in the quiet air.
But we are never abandoned by our Father above,
For we are encircled completely in His perfect love.

Even in the moments of great heartache and grief,
He walks beside us to offer relief.
The chords may sound heavy, discordant, and long,
But He is still shaping a beautiful song.

We only view a single, difficult score,
While our Father in Heaven sees so much more.
He hears the beautiful notes of our song in life,
And He even sees what we can become through strife.

The Takeaway: Life’s hardest moments are not meaningless interruptions to our song. They are part of the melody God is shaping within us. The white and black keys together create the beauty of music, just as joy and sorrow together shape a faithful and meaningful life. Even when we cannot yet hear the resolution, we can trust the Master Composer to turn every note into something beautiful. 

Watch my YouTube short on this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5RTsZugmco

The Door Between Us

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
This idea came as I reflected on Revelation 3:20, where the Savior says He stands at the door and knocks. I started thinking about how different that is from how we experience people in our lives. If we were expecting someone we loved, we would be watching and waiting, ready to open the door the moment they arrived. But sometimes, even with the best intentions, life gets busy, distractions fill our days, and we miss quiet moments that matter. It made me realize how often the Savior is already near—gently knocking—while I’m caught up in other things, not always noticing He’s there. 

The Door Between Us

Just imagine that a person very dear is coming to visit you,
You do everything you can to get ready from your view.
They finally arrive and they knock on your door,
And you embrace them as you fall to the floor.

Then imagine preparing your home for Jesus to come,
You would be really excited because of where He came from.
You are eagerly awaiting His visit,
Your heart is full-you can feel it.

Then when your Savior finally arrives at the door, 
He knocks much more gently than ever before. 
That if you are not paying close attention, you might miss His knock,
Even though you have been waiting for Him around the clock.

Jesus isn’t here with us physically on the earth,
But through Him, we can feel our Divine Worth.
He is always waiting outside our door
To show us His love that will from Him pour.

He is always there when we need Him to be,
And because of Him,our blessings we can more clearly see.
We just need to invite Him into our heart
And then we can make a fresh new start.

The Takeaway: The Savior doesn’t force His way into our lives, and He doesn’t walk away when we don’t answer right away. He is patient, constant, and always willing to come in if we choose Him. This is a reminder to slow down, listen for His quiet knock, and make space for Him each day. We don’t have to wait for a grand moment to feel His presence—He is already there, waiting for us to open the door.

The Hands That Lift Me Again

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

Backstory:
This writing was inspired by reflecting on how easy it can be for any of us to feel discouraged by our mistakes, weaknesses, and the times we fall short. In those moments, it can seem like getting back up is too hard or that we’ve fallen too far to be helped. As I thought about those feelings, I was reminded of the Savior’s constant love and His power to lift, heal, and strengthen us—no matter where we are or how many times we’ve fallen.

The Hands That Lift Me Again

If you have ever felt alone
Like you are in the darkness on your own.
If you feel like you’ve hit a wall, 
And you’re stumbling through a heavy fall.

If you ever feel like you have fallen 
Too many times to get back up again.
If your many shortcomings weigh you down, 
And in the dark you sit and frown.

Just remember that there is One named Jesus
Who will help you overcome your every weakness.
He has been in the darkness Himself before
And He will help you when you feel like you can’t stand anymore.

He already suffered for your every sin
And He knows what it feels like to be in your skin.
Just know that Jesus will help you get up 
When you have fallen, He will fill your empty cup.

You are never out of the reach of your Savior’s gentle touch,
For He loves you and cares about you so much.
Even if you were the only person on earth
He would have suffered so that you could feel your divine worth.

The Takeaway: We all have moments when we feel broken, weary, or unsure if we can keep trying. But no one is ever beyond the reach of Jesus Christ. He understands perfectly, and His hands are always extended to lift us, heal us, and help us begin again.