Words from the Wilderness

Where God's Word Meets God's World
Join the Adventure

Read

My bimonthly posts combine the wonders of nature with the Word of the Creator.  Read the latest here!

Listen

Check out the Words from the Wilderness podcast for encouragement, inspiration, and peace.  Follow along on all major platforms!

Believe

Every journey must have a compass, and the Word of God is mine.  Find my complete statement of faith here!

Hi There!

I’m so glad you stopped by my little corner of the woods! I’m Ashlyn McKayla, and I find my writer’s calling where my heart for God and my love for His creation intersect. Born and raised in rural Arkansas on the shoulders of the Ouachita Mountains, I’m most at home where the streetlights die and the pavement ends–roaming the woods, counting the stars, watching for wolves, and breathing the mountain air. I love exploring this wonder-charged world of ours and sharing the truths I find. I believe that when we see God in nature, then we can begin to see Him everywhere. I hope you’ll join me on this quest—into the natural world and toward the heart of God.

Looking for My Fiction Books?

Check out my other website, ashlynmckaylaohm.com!

Recent Posts

Read the latest from the blog!

Bluebird Blessing

The bluebird box has been there for years, decades even. It’s nothing impressive to look at—just a simple cedar box mounted to a rusty T-post and sheltered under a spray of spirea and a slender pear tree. Like most things that have lived patiently through the swirl of...

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision… The prayer floats skyward, whispering across the short-shaved crop fields—a plea to see. Here, where the land leaps forward, my gaze is stretched for miles. O King of my heart… Here, in the wildness of the high grasslands, the horizon embraces us...

Catch the Glow

In the crackling dusk of a Rocky Mountain evening, I have come to catch the glow. It’s the day after Thanksgiving, and I’m standing on the sidewalks of Estes Park, waiting for the wonder to begin. Tonight is clear, a blank between two snowstorms—one that whirled...

Thankful Even in This

“Thanksgiving should be celebrated in the spring.” Thus declared the famous Canadian author L. M. Montgomery. She further explained her opinion with these words: “I think it would be ever so much better than having it in November when everything is dead or asleep....

WHEN THE ICE MELTS

My debut novel, When the Ice Melts, is available now!

After her dearest dreams are shattered, competitive figure skater Addisyn Miles embarks on a quest to discover who she really is.  But when her greatest enemy resurfaces, her only hope for redemption lies in the sister she left behind…and the Love she never considered.

Start reading today for free! 

“Wild Goose Chase”

“It’s ironic:  our society loves the thrill of a hunt, but we don’t seek after God.  We pursue romantic partners, chase dreams, follow our heart—but we expect God to come on our terms and eat from our hand.  Instead of a Wild Goose, we’d prefer the Spirit to resemble the tame dove pictured in so many church murals—a soft white bird, small enough to be carried in one hand, cooing comfortably on a shoulder.  We’re uneasy with the thought of the Wild Goose—unwieldy, unpredictable, uncontrollable, demanding our utter concentration, tearing the sleepiness of our souls with strident cries.” 

This was my very first blog post, and it’s still one of my most popular! Its theme–living in step with the Spirit–is the heart of this blog. Read “Wild Goose Chase” now!

(photo credits:  Ralph Wood)

I am a member of COMPEL Training