I'm in New York City. My Aspire Women's Event touring team that I have been a part of from the beginning is heading to Florida without me.

​It seems so weird to say that. Over the past five years and 93 events that we have done, I have missed two. 

When we started in 2014, we did one event in Phoenix, AZ. In 2015, we did four and in 2016 we jumped to a whopping 12 events in one year. Little did we know that in 2017 the Lord would send us to 26 different cities and last year in 2018, we visited 41 cities.

Now in 2019, I have visited 9 cities and we are on pace to hit 70 cities this year. Crazy!! But, this year is different. As we are growing, so are the demands and so are the open doors. While we have had a rotating lineup of speakers and comedians, the one constant has been the host and worship leader, me. 

This year we are adding new worship leaders and musical artists. For me, it's a blessing to know that someone else can step in as God sends us out to reach more people. It's also a blessing to know that I don't have to do it all and the tour can go on without me, if I am not available on a certain day.

However, if I'm being completely honest, there is a part of me that feels like a mother sending her baby off to college for the first time and it kind of stings.

As a mother you are there from the start; you hear the first words, you see the first steps. You are a part of the learning to walk, fall and getting back up that happens as one grows. You pour your heart into that child so that one day it can stand on its own. Then, you step back and watch all that you have given do what God has intended for it to do from the beginning...glorify the Lord and be a light for Jesus Christ.

Yet, even as you step back, it can still be difficult to watch your child go out on its own and fly without you. Mostly because you love it so much and don't want anything to happen to your baby. But you know that for the sake of many, you must let it go otherwise you just stand in the way. 

That's how I feel about this weekend. I know that as the Lord grows what we are doing, I must release it and let it fly without me. I know the foundation has been laid, the ministry is strong and Jesus reigns over it...not me...JESUS!

I am thankful for this weekend away with my husband in New York because he is my first calling, but also because I get to see something that I have poured my heart into flourish, not because of me, but because of what Jesus has done and will do through the ministry of Aspire Women's Events.

So, if you are in the West Palm Beach area, or know someone that is there is an AMAZING event going on. You will laugh, learn and worship. You will be filled and I would love for you to see our team while they are in the area!!

Don't get any crazy ideas. I'm not going anywhere and I will be back, fully rested and ready to go next weekend!! But, until then...

​You can get more info at www.aspirewomensevents.com

2018 was a packed year. My traveling schedule was the fullest it has ever been. My family grew and changed in what seemed like overnight. My love for people and God’s bride, the church, grew in ways I never thought possible. Yet, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, the precious and quiet moments with my husband and family will be treasured most.

There are so many memories to choose from, so many stories in between, that twelve photos hardly does this year justice. Regardless, enjoy a trip down memory lane with me.

I still have battles, bouts with crippling depression. I typically don't have a problem sharing them publicly...after I've come out the other side. But the truth is, even then, I tend to not share them.

Today, I have NOT come out the otherside. I must be close though, because, I have the strength to at least open my laptop and type. And for some reason, I think someone else may be where I'm at and needs to be reminded to fight.

For the past four days, I have been emotionally mute, physically frozen, but spiritually alive. How does that work?

The Word of God has sustained me, even though I have not been able to communicate with those close to me. His Word has reminded me of Truth even though my mind has gone in crazy directions while my physical strength has been depleted and my motivation to move has stalled.

Depression still hits me, and freezes me. Depression still sits on my chest and tells me not to move...and then I hear my friend Shannon's voice, a trumpet for the Lord, saying "GET UP!" (she is so bossy.) Depression is dark, But God is light.

So on day three, I moved my mouth and I spoke. I shared my hurts, the trigger for this battle...irrational as they may have seemed. Did it make my pain go away, did it make all the darkness disappear? NO, but it broke open the clouds and let the light hit me on my face and it pushed me out... not all the way, but enough for the day.

So today, while I sit up with my heart heavy, I pray that you too, if you are where I am or where I have been, I pray that you would open His Word, cry out to Him, move and let someone know that you are hurting.

It may not make it go away, but your words, your prayers and breaking the silence chips away at the darkness creating holes for the light to come through. So keep picking away. You are not alone.

​I love you in the Lord.

ps. As my friend, Robin, just reminded me “God is in the dark when we are there. He isn't the dark...but He is nearer than ever.”

I travel the country full time from the west coast to the east coast and everything in-between. I visit small towns, big cities, thriving churches and some congregations that are just barely hanging on.

I see joy.

I meet women and hear their stories. I see bits of their pain, their brokenness, their hurts and their longings.

I see joy.

I hear a woman tell me she wants something new and is leaving her husband. And then I turn and see another women broken because her husband is leaving her for something new.

I see joy.

I see a 50yr old grown women who was locked up and tortured as a child just now learning how to breath. I see her broken and curled up in a ball.

I see joy.

I wipe my face from the tears of a 70 year old women's sobbing because she feels so alone and doesn't know how she is going to pay her rent. I see in her a 5 year old girl just wanting her mommy to hold her.

I see joy.

I see and women, angry at the world and nothing will soothe her, so she hurls insults because that is all that has ever been hurled at her. 

I see joy.

Then, I look in the mirror and I see in me a women whose body tires easily, wanting to be home where it is safe and warm in the arms of her husband, but God has different plans and keeps sending her out to hold the hurting, to hear the stories and to be a Herald for His voice. I see a women who carries the pain of others deeply and has to hide away each night and release them to the Lord for Him to carry.

I see joy.

The JOY of the Lord is my strength.

Joy is our ability to see past our circumstances and look into the face of the Son, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame and now sits victorious in honor at the right hand of God. Jesus is our joy. Jesus is our victory. JESUS. JESUS. JESUS.

This is Joy. And it is my absolute Joy to do it, to see past my own circumstances, help others see past theirs and point people to the face of Christ in the best way that He sees fit.

Today and everyday, May you see the joy in all He has called you to do day in and day out. The joy of the Lord in YOUR strength. Keep pressing in!

Mia Koehne- Here to hear, hold and herald

As a young women, I FELT like a failure, then I began to BELIEVE I was a failure and because of that I started to LIVE as as a failure.

I set out to disappoint. I set out to sabotage the good that was going on in my life because I simply could not grasp that I had any value or worth. That blurred focus in my life caused me to hurt a lot of people who loved and cared for me.

When enough was enough and I surrendered my life to Christ, it didn’t change the fact that people were devastated by what I call “Hurricane Mia.” Turning my life over to Christ didn’t make the effects of my sin and betrayal of those I loved go away, but it did put into the spotlight my great need for forgiveness and my desperate need for healing and restoration.

You see, my life was changed because people chose to FORGIVE me, people I had hurt and lied to, people I cheated on and forsaken; They forgave me.

THIS is why I choose, even in the toughest of situations, to forgive others, even when I, in my flesh, deem them undeserving. I choose to forgive.

FORGIVENESS CHANGED MY LIFE!

My friends, do you want to change someone's life, be the turning point in someones story of redemption, maybe even your own? FORGIVE!

As my husband, Bob, said "Forgive people. Life is difficult if you don't forgive. People walk around angry because they simply cannot forgive"

Brothers and Sisters - Forgiveness not only frees the offender, but it frees the captor as well. Forgive.