Christ Alone, Cornerstone My 2026 Word of the Year - Alignment

To the woman reading this who has quietly wondered if she is too critical for naming what hurts her, I want to offer you reassurance. Speaking honestly about harmful patterns is not a failure of love—it is an act of care, both for yourself and for truth. Asking for another's accountability for their hurtful behavior is not about tearing someone down; it is about refusing to pretend that what wounds you is acceptable. When your clarity is met with defensiveness, deflection, distortion, displacement, or dismissal, it can cause you to doubt yourself, and that doubt can feel heavy. Please don’t carry it. Scripture does not call you to absorb harm, silence wisdom, or sacrifice peace in order to preserve someone else’s comfort at your expense. If you are choosing truth with humility and love, you are not being harsh—you are being faithful. Trust what God is showing you. He is gentle with you, and He is guiding you into peace. And remember this: you never need to accept someone else’s label of you simply because you ask them to live in alignment with Scripture and treat you with Christ-like love or to respect your boundaries. This is written for you, through Him who anchors us.

There is a song that has anchored me since the earliest days of my walk with Christ—Christ Alone (Cornerstone). I clung to it before I had language for theology, before I understood process or pruning, before I could name what obedience would eventually cost me. Whenever I hear it now, I am overcome not by emotion, but by memory—memory of the faithfulness of God to shape me, steady me, and slowly form in me a life that could stand. It reminds me that He has always been the One doing the work: laying foundations, correcting alignment, pruning out of me what does not serve His calling on my life, and holding me steady while He does it. Long before I understood alignment, I was being anchored to the Cornerstone.

There are moments when life gives you undeniable evidence that something is off—not through chaos, but through contrast. When nearly every area of your life is flourishing under God’s hand, yet one place remains dysfunctional, stagnant, and toxic, the question becomes unavoidable. Why does peace refuse to dwell here? It hovers at the edges but never settles, never roots, never stays. You can manage the tension for a time, explain it away, even spiritualize it—but you cannot rest in it. And where peace cannot rest, God is often speaking most clearly.

This absence of peace is not condemnation; it is communication. It is the quiet mercy of God refusing to allow confusion to masquerade as calling or endurance to be mistaken for faithfulness. God is not silent in these moments. He is precise. He allows the contrast to sharpen until discernment becomes unavoidable. And sometimes, His answer is not correction or endurance, but removal—not as punishment, but as protection.

There is a song we sing at church, and the lyrics include this line: “We’ve prayed our prayers, we’ve made our plans. If You’re not in it, we don’t want it—oh God, would You move?” And move He did. He moved the one area of my life He was not in—the one relationship not surrendered to His will—out of the present and firmly into the history bin of my story.

When the Question Became Impossible to Ignore

A question I could no longer avoid began to surface: Why was every area of my life untouched by this relationship flourishing—abundantly, unmistakably—while the relationship itself felt joyless, heavy, spiritually barren, and draining?

My children, untouched by it, were growing in their faith and joyfully re-engaging in church. Our family is full of joy, honesty, love, closeness, and fruit! It shows up in almost everything we do, think, and say to each other. My work was thriving; I am ranked number one in the country within a Fortune 150 company and have held that ranking all year, decisively. My ministry is gaining quiet momentum, with our first women’s conference weeks away (see below for tickets) and word beginning to spread. My church life has deepened to the point that I accepted the role of Director of Small Groups Ministry. Everywhere I looked, there was fruit—growth, order, life, and abundant joy.

Everywhere—except the relationship I kept trying to preserve and sustain.

That contrast became impossible to spiritualize away.

Scripture consistently teaches that where God is present and honored, fruit follows. Not perfection, but movement. Not ease, but evidence. And slowly, I had to face a humbling truth: this relationship was the one place in my life that had never been surrendered to God’s leadership—because it could not be.

We did not pray together.

We did not study Scripture together.

There was no shared spiritual rhythm or mutual pursuit of Christ.

Romance, in every sense, was absent.

Intentionality toward the future was minimal.

Joy, laughter, and ease were missing.

Leadership was consistently avoided.

What existed instead was chronic delay, deflection, blame, and spiritual passivity—patterns that mirrored the rest of his life, but not the life God was actively cultivating and blessing in mine.

What unsettled me most was not simply the absence of effort, but the presence of contradiction. Public spiritual language did not translate into private spiritual fruit. Scripture was referenced, but rarely lived. Authority was claimed, but personal responsibility, pruning, and accountability were refused. I learned that being called a shepherd does not mean one is safe to follow. Alignment requires integrity—the same life in the light and in the dark.

That realization reframed everything.

This was not a season of waiting.

It was a pattern of avoidance.

It was not spiritual tension meant to refine me.

It was spiritual passivity disguised as leadership.

Nothing grew there.

Not intimacy.

Not trust.

Not emotional safety.

Not love.

Joy was entirely absent.

Scripture tells us that a good tree bears good fruit. The absence of fruit is not neutral—it is information. And once I allowed myself to receive that information honestly, the question was no longer "Why is this so hard?" The question became "Why am I trying to keep alive what God is clearly not sustaining?"

A Necessary Word on Discernment

Biblical alignment cannot coexist with persistent self-centeredness, emotional immaturity, or lack of empathy. Scripture does not define alignment by titles, language, or intensity, but by formation and fruit. A life aligned with Christ is progressively shaped by Christ-formed love—love that does not originate in the self, but flows from abiding in Him. When someone consistently redirects attention back to themselves, cannot hold space for another person’s experience, shows little awareness or care for another’s inner world, or competes for emotional dominance in conversation, Scripture does not treat these as harmless traits. They reflect a heart still governed by self rather than submitted to Christ.

Jesus calls His followers to deny themselves (Luke 9:23), to look to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4), to walk in humility (Philippians 2:3), and to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). These are not advanced spiritual ideals; they are foundational evidence of a life being shaped by Christ. Isaiah reminds us why this matters: “Whoever believes will not act hastily” (Isaiah 28:16). Christ-formed love steadies us. It removes urgency, anxiety, and the pressure to force what God is not sustaining. Where these qualities are absent and resisted—especially over time and in private—there is misalignment, no matter how spiritual the presentation appears. And hear this, Scripture never asks us to bind ourselves to what consistently resists the transforming work of the Spirit or bears no relational fruit (Matthew 7:16; Galatians 5:22–23).

Naming the Delay

I must also name this with humility: I stayed longer than obedience required. God exposed the misalignment clearly seven months before I walked away. The signs were not subtle; they were consistent and unmistakable. Yet I remained—not because I lacked discernment, but because I hoped alignment could be achieved through patience, understanding, and my effort.

I mistook endurance for obedience. I believed that if I carried it faithfully enough, it could be brought into order. But alignment is never produced by one willing heart compensating for another unwilling one. Scripture is clear: “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). What God revealed in mercy, I postponed in hope—and that postponement cost me peace. Not because God was unclear, but because I hesitated to act on what He had already made unmistakably known.

Jesus and the Responsibility for Change

Jesus Himself walked away from those who refused alignment with His teaching. He did not chase hardened hearts, negotiate truth, or take responsibility for changing people who resisted it. He taught clearly, invited freely, and allowed choice to reveal itself. When disciples turned back because His words were too costly, “many walked with Him no more” (John 6:66). Jesus did not pursue them. He did not soften His teaching to keep them. He simply asked those who remained, “Do you also want to go away?” Alignment—even in Jesus’ ministry—was voluntary. Responsibility for change always rested with the individual, not with Him.

God’s Order Reveals What Belongs—and What Cannot Stay

God’s order is not something we invent.

It is something we submit to.

Christ is the cornerstone.

Scripture is the authority.

Obedience is the pathway.

When life is ordered this way, fruit follows—not because we strive, but because we are rightly placed. Where God is honored, growth appears. Responsibility matures. Peace stabilizes. Life moves forward, bearing fruit.

And where God is resisted or mocked, something else emerges instead: delay, avoidance, stagnation, disorder. Not immediately. Not dramatically. But consistently.

God exposes misalignment gently—through contrast, fruit, and peace, or the absence of it—until the truth can no longer be ignored.

This is mercy.

The Measuring Line: Why Isaiah 28 Defines Alignment

“Therefore the Lord God says:Look, I have laid a stone in Zion,a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;the one who believes will be unshakable.And I will make justice the measuring lineand righteousness the mason’s level.”(Isaiah 28:16–17, CSB)

Alignment does not begin with feeling or effort. It begins with what God has already set. In this passage, God does not ask His people how secure they feel, how sincere their intentions are, or how much effort they are expending. He declares a reality: He has already laid the cornerstone. The foundation is not negotiable, movable, or emotional. It is Christ Himself—tested, precious, and immovable.

Everything else in life is measured against Him.

Isaiah’s language is deliberate and architectural. Once the cornerstone is set, God introduces the tools of alignment. Justice becomes the measuring line. Righteousness becomes the mason’s level. These are not abstract virtues; they are instruments of truth. They do not ask whether something feels meaningful or familiar. They reveal whether it stands straight under God’s standards and upright under His character.

This is why the promise follows immediately: “the one who believes will be unshakable.” Stability is not the result of effort or endurance. It is the result of belief rightly placed—belief anchored to the cornerstone rather than to emotion, attachment, or desire. Alignment produces steadiness. It removes haste, anxiety, and the need to force what God has not established.

When something aligns, it stands.

And when it does not, no amount of effort can make it stable.

Isaiah 28 is not a warning meant to frighten; it is a mercy meant to protect. God measures before He blesses so that what He builds can endure. He exposes what is crooked not to shame us, but to spare us from constructing our lives on what cannot bear weight.

Alignment, then, is not restriction.

It is safety.

It is freedom from striving.

It is the gift of being unshakable—because what you are building is finally resting on Christ alone.

Why God Measures Before He Blesses

God does not bless indiscriminately. He blesses what is aligned.

Before growth comes order. Before blessing comes measure. God determines what can stand before He decides what can flourish.

Measurement is mercy. God measures to protect—to expose what is unstable before it becomes foundational. Blessing poured onto misalignment does not redeem it; it reinforces harm.

Alignment always precedes abundance.

A Declaration of Alignment — 2026

So in 2026, I am declaring alignment.

I am no longer asking God to bless what I am merely attached to.

I am asking Him to order what He is building.

I choose Christ as the cornerstone.

Scripture as the authority.

Obedience as the pathway.

I will no longer confuse intensity with intimacy,

potential with fruit,

or endurance with faithfulness.

If something requires my anxiety to survive,

my confusion to remain,

or my self-betrayal to function,

it is not aligned with God’s order.

I release what resists His leadership.

I lay down what disrupts His peace.

I step away from what refuses to hear or walk with Him.

God does not remove what is good—

only what is out of order.

As I look toward 2026, the Lord has placed one word before me—alignment—and I will follow it, because I am done drifting on crooked paths that pull me from His peace.

If you find yourself in this story, know this: alignment is not reserved for the strong, the certain, or the spiritually accomplished. It is available to anyone willing to accept truth and respond to what God is already revealing. Alignment begins quietly—by listening where peace is absent, by honoring the fruit God is producing elsewhere, and by trusting that obedience will restore what confusion has eroded. You do not have to force clarity, fix another person, or explain yourself into wholeness. You only have to agree with God. And part of that agreement is refusing to accept labels placed on you by someone who lacks emotional intelligence to take accountability for themselves. When you align your life to Christ, release what resists His order, and submit your steps to His Word, peace returns, fruit grows, and your soul remembers what it feels like to stand upright again.

Alignment is not loss.

It is the way home.

And here, in Christ alone, I stand.

🌿 Mark Your Calendars

SCAN for tickets

✨ The Field & Feather Fire Conference ✨

February 14th, 2026 Camp Aramoni, Tonica IL

10 am - 2 pm

A gathering created for women just like us —women being pruned, healed, stretched, and set aflame by the God who refuses to leave us unchanged. A morning filled with testimonies, worship, learning, laughing, and sharing. If the blog above spoke to something deep in you…then this day is for you. The Holy Spirit is moving, come hear how! Come expecting renewal. Come hungry for Jesus. Come ready for fire. SCAN the QR code for tickets.

🌾 At Field & Feather, we walk with women through every season of growth — the pruning, the blooming, and the stillness in between. We believe gratitude is more than saying thank you for blessings; it’s becoming thankful for transformation. For the Savior who refuses to leave us unchanged.

Join us at www.fieldandfeatherministries.org or on Facebook.