Wild Haven Sanctuary

09/01/2026

Lil’ sneak peak of our preparations for our upcoming glamping RESTore to ROAR Retreat … maybe you can already FEEL the ahhhh-mazingness of it like we do! Annnnd we’re not even done yet!

You can LISTEN to it in the comments. Ahhh … 😌

What a reTREAT it will be … and YOU are worth it!!

Stay tuned as we grow our reach and our territory - God willing!! All things are possible with, in, and through Him.

If you’d like to support the work we do, check out our website.






🐛🦋Isaiah 61:3-4

08/30/2026

Let's celebrate 🎉 ALL the wins! BIG & small. Any shares? I'll start. ALL GOOGLE FORMS ARE COMPLETE for our retreat!

"Deer" friends and friends-to-be, we can't wait to meet you in the wilderMess! 🫶🏼 Sending lots of love from above! 💕

08/25/2026

What’s on my mind?

Mercies that are new every morning - when we pause long enough to notice God’s presence. His loving fingerprint 🫆 and His message in the WilderMess.

There’s a major shaking, a sifting, going on. It’s uncomfortable, pretty painfully heart piercing if I’m honest. I can’t imagine going through it without knowing whose I am and who He is - faithful to complete … trusting that if it’s not good, God’s not done.

So, here I am again, with the signs of fall already beginning and my first morning in my fuzzy moccasins and my comfy sweater journaling and meditating on His Word- His Truth about who He is, who he says I AM, in His WONDERful nature that is revealing so much of his AWEsome nature.

The mountains wouldn’t be so majestically beautiful without the valleys, eh?

I’ll take mountains and valleys over flatlined plateaus any day. Harder to traverse, but oh so holy, too. 💔❤️‍🩹💜

Armoring Up on the daily … 🦁👑🛡️⚔️💜

Something bigger and better is coming… the best views come after the hardest climbs. 🤗

I hope this encourages someone today … you are not alone. Maybe set apart, for such a time as this … but never alone.

What you’re going through does not define you. What you’re going through does not sideline you. You matter. Your story in His hands can impact and change HIStory. Even if just for 1 other person who is struggling.

Straighten your crown 👑… we’re learning to ROAR a different way - a better way - sometimes a softer way - like the butterfly effect. 🦋

08/19/2026

A Call for Wild Hearts + Helping Hands 🤝

Our WHS Rooted to Rising RESTore to ROAR Fall Retreat is JUST 2½ weeks away, and we’re making one final call for helping hands to join us as we prepare our space, land, and gifts for our retreaters!

This retreat is meaningful to us AND our retreaters, with mostly new faces showing us that Wild Haven's reach is growing and making a positive impact 🌱

But our family is also in a VERY full season. We’ve realized retreats can’t continue to be prepped for and carried by just 2–4 people with us growing.

For the next 2½ weeks:

🌿 **PROPERTY + TRAILS**
• Trail clearing • Wood moving
• Mowing/weedeating • Landscaping

🏡 **SPACES + SETUP**
• Furniture • Cleaning
• Beds/baths • Studio/barn setup

⛺ **GLAMPING + OUTDOORS**
• Tents/cots • Decks/toilet tents
• Solar lights • Fire pit/patio

🧺 **BEHIND THE SCENES**
• Signs/labels • Gift bags
• Kitchen organization • Finishing touches

🍎 **HOSPITALITY**
• Meal prep • Welcome support
• Co-leader breakfast • Final setup

🛠️ **Strong backs + practical skills welcome!**

You don’t have to do everything!!
One afternoon. One project. One skill. One meal. One pair of hands. 🤎

Want to help with THIS retreat or future gatherings? **Message me what you’d enjoy helping with + when you’re available.**

Can’t physically help? Prayers, encouragement, sharing + financial support matter, too.
-----
After this retreat, we’ll use fall/winter to:

• Pause our gatherings + regroup
• Focus on fundraising
• Grow our volunteer family
• Seek and Prepare future spaces sustainably
• Create future gatherings with less strain

Because what’s the point of creating a "place of rest + restoration" if we aren’t experiencing it ourselves?! 😉 REAL + RAW, y’all!

This Rooted to Rising may be our last retreat for a little while, but it’s NOT the end of retreats or gatherings. We’re simply preparing for what’s next. ⏩

We’re not closing the doors.
We’re building a stronger foundation. 🪏🛠️ ⚙️

We hope for Wild Haven to be built with AND for our Ashe County community and beyond.

Let’s bring this one home together…
and make room for what’s next. 🌳 🏡

08/18/2026

WE'RE BACK!

After a MUCH needed family adventure away, we're home, safe, and mostly sane! 😂 I'm especially grateful I intentionally built in TWO full days of rest and recovery (-ish) before jumping back into "real life."

Because apparently, starting most mornings around 6 AM, seeing more sunrises than sunsets, spending 10+ hours on our feet, hiking, exploring, driving, and adventuring through Yellowstone with our 20 and 21 year old adult kids is a pretty effective way to discover just how much REST we need in this season of life!

And honestly? That's one of the biggest things I brought home.

Yellowstone was breathtaking, wild, massive, unpredictable, humbling, and sometimes overwhelming.

Which felt oddly appropriate for this season when we're living in a very real and raw "wilderMess" right now, too. So much transition. So much beauty. So much uncertainty. So many things shifting beneath our feet while we're figuring out what's next.

Maybe that's why Yellowstone felt so oddly... normal.

The wilderness isn't something to conquer. It's something to experience. To notice. Respect. Listen to. Stand in awe of.

Geysers erupt on their own timetable, requiring us to "BE STILL and WAIT." Wildlife couldn't care less about our schedules. Trails demanded more energy than we expected. And sometimes the weather changed our plans completely, reminding us that even when we don't reach the peak we intended, the journey can still be breathtaking.

And I kept thinking... "Life is a little like Yellowstone."

We don't control the terrain or the weather. We don't always know what's around the next bend. Sometimes the trail is easy. Sometimes it's steep. Sometimes we need to stop, breathe, refuel, change our gear, or simply "REST."

And sometimes we just need to look up and remember how much beauty exists right in the midst of the wild.

After this trip, I'm even more convinced that REST isn't something we earn after we've finished everything. It's part of how we become ready for whatever comes next.

So... I'm home. I'm rested-ish. 😂 I'm 100% grateful. I'm 200% Humbled. And I'm barely ready to dive back in!

I'll be sharing Yellowstone adventures over the next few weeks because there are FAR too many photos to keep to myself. 😂📸

But as you scroll through them, maybe pause.

Notice what you notice.

Breathe.

Let yourself be reminded that you don't have to rush through this season either.

We're ALL navigating our own wilderMesses. We ALL need rest.

And perhaps there's more beauty, grace, rest, and becoming happening right here, in the middle of our mess, than we realize.

One wild, beautiful breath and step at a time. 🦬🏔️🌲💜

08/07/2026

Check out our “GRHub” using the QR code for some good nuggets to support you while we’re out and about in the great outdoors!

08/05/2026

If someone asks why some people can do toxic things and still look like a fit body and a wonderful life.

"It's a combination of genetics and what we accumulate over time.

Our genes may give us certain predispositions, but things like trauma, chronic stress, gut health, sleep, nutrition, environmental exposures, and daily habits all influence how those genes are expressed. That's the basic idea behind epigenetics.

As someone with a history of childhood and generational trauma, reading The Body Keeps the Score really helped me understand that our experiences and beliefs can affect our physical health, too.

So instead of comparing ourselves to or competing with someone who appears healthy on the outside, maybe we try to focus on what small choices we each can make today to care for the body, mind, and spirit that we've been given. We're all carrying different histories, and our bodies reflect that. The good news is that we can start making positive lifestyle changes now that can improve, maybe even reverse, our health from the inside out."

How do I know this from experience, too... I once had 6 pack abs, was a collegiate then Crossfit athlete and kids coach (for teaching the next generation!), and had a promising career as a nurse in the medical field. I LOOKED healthy and high on life - despite the eventual 19 medical diagnoses, multiple surgeries, and meds with more negative side effects than positive. Truly

08/04/2026

Today I found myself smiling at the swirls of fuchsia hair dye circling a bathtub drain while I scrubbed it clean for someone I dearly love who's walking through a really hard season.

And I thought...

Maybe this is what becoming looks like.

When I was younger, I imagined that by now I'd have life all figured out. Instead, I'm learning that some of the most meaningful moments aren't glamorous at all. They're found in showing up, serving quietly, and being invited into someone's real and raw wilderMess story.

I've learned that loving someone doesn't mean I have to agree with every choice they make. It doesn't require me to compromise my convictions, either.

It simply asks me to show up and be present.

To listen.

To stay curious.

To choose relationship over trying to fix someone.

Sometimes the greatest gift we can offer isn't advice.

It's helping someone know they're seen, loved, and not alone.

As I get older, I'm realizing that having life "all together" was never the goal.

Imperfectly Becoming someone who loves a little more like Jesus (often without a single word, but a breath soaked in prayer) ... that's the journey.

One ordinary act of grace at a time. 💜

Now... back to scrubbing the tub ... again. 🧽

08/04/2026

Hey y'all! We've got a few spots left! Please RSVP by August 20th! We'd love to see you here with us in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Ashe County, NC in just about 1 month exactly!!!

Rest, renew, and get rooted to rise restored with quiet strength at Wild Haven’s RESTore to ROAR retreat—trauma-informed healing in nature.

08/03/2026

Join us in spreading the word, the hope, and the support of Ashe Mental Health Forum in the much needed, but often unseen, work that they are doing in our community!