I find it incredibly hilarious that He, He being Jesus, would choose me as a writer. I’ve always been fond of words, and an advanced reader as a child, but lacked all of the fundamentals according to my teachers. I failed miserably at diagramming sentences and had little to no desire to pick up a book growing up. My English teachers saw potential but never saw it manifest before the school year came to a close. Yet, in the quiet pages of my journal, I would pick up a pencil and my heart would pour out words my mouth had not built up the courage to speak.

Here I am a 30-something-year-old, artist, poet, and business strategist. A mother to 3 miraculous humans whom I get the pleasure of raising alongside my wonderful husband, Stephen. My life didn’t always look this beautiful, yet God made beauty out of ashes. In the past decade, I’ve been in a whirlwind, choosing to evolve daily. As I ride this wave, I am learning to ABIDE in Christ. I am learning to love my quirks and apologize less for my unique nature. I am using my words to build life, bring hope, and encourage you.

I am a multidisciplinary artist. Textile art is by far my absolute favorite art form to create. I’ve sewn more quilts both great and small than I can keep track of. Like the intricacies of the quilts I’ve sewn and the quilts passed down by my loved ones, our lives are full of intricacies often hard to put into words.

As I write I hope my words weave together a poetic voice to say the words some are scared to muster, to give strength, and to encourage all readers.

Every word penned that is deemed even the least bit good, I cannot credit to myself. Apart from Jesus, I cannot write. As I abide in Him, He allows my eyes to see different perspectives and enables me to curate these books I have the pleasure of sharing with you.

I’ve always considered my paintings, words, books, and all things art-related as my “secret space.” I was happy with that until I discovered a way to encourage people to bloom. As a survivor of domestic violence, I know firsthand what it feels like to feel shame, afraid, isolated, in pain, and utterly broken. Even though the pain I endured was awful it has given me a deeper relationship with Jesus, birthed a ministry (FREED Magazine), and ultimately showed me a marginalized group of women and children in my community who need assistance to change their circumstances. I share my experience in my debut poetry book, Her FREED Soul. Walking through that season of my life in my early twenties was incredibly hard, but I had a small but powerful support system who loved me in ways my soul will never forget.

In my weekly publication, The Psalm Room, I don’t shy away from tough topics because I’ve learned transparency with The Lord has brought more healing than covering myself in shame has. I share poetry and express my feelings, art, and overall journey with readers. I often share excerpts of vulnerable pages in my journal in the hope of inspiring at least one person. I enjoy sending out newsletters to my subscribers showing them more of my process and heart in their inboxes (follow my journey here).  

When I am not writing I am spending time with my family. My husband Stephen and I spend our days managing our branding firm, COVA Design Company, publishing FREED Magazine with our amazing team, and working on our individual projects. As a family, you will find us at the beach, an art gallery, the botanical gardens, or at home having a cozy creative day.

Random fact: I am a lover of tea and will host a tea party at the drop of a dime! 

I don’t have all of the answers or words to every person's experience. I am not perfect, even as a writer and editor of a magazine my words contain typos and I often opt for literary creativity when I can. If you are looking for perfection, you won't find it here. However, I do my best to be true, to share when I can, and to provide words to birth a new wave of hope inside of you.

PS: I’ve prayed for YOU to be here! 

Thank you in advance for joining me on my journey. 

With love,

Briana Ariel