“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” Matthew 5:37 RSV
“The boundary is where I stop and you begin.” That quote from Boundaries by Henry Cloud describes a beautiful starting point for understanding who we truly are—what our “yes” is and what our “no” is. Why do we sometimes say yes when we mean no, and no when we mean yes? The challenge with understanding boundaries is that when we don’t know who we are, we often become defined by what everyone else says—what they think and what they feel. It’s like being caught in a spider’s web, unable to move. The more we struggle, the more entangled we become in the trap of not living true to who we were created to be.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.
I work with all kinds of families—adoptive, foster, blended, and biological—but there’s one story that I want to tell you about. It’s about a little boy who experienced a medical trauma when he was just a year and a half old. In an instant, his voice was gone. He stopped speaking, and from that moment on, his behaviors became his only way to communicate his needs.
His mom is a single parent. His father is not in the picture. At first, this seemed like a story I had heard many times before—but then something remarkable happened. This mom leaned in. She began learning and practicing Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). Slowly, she started to see her son for who he truly was: incredibly smart, but locked inside a world where neither of them knew how to connect.
The little boy’s behaviors were extreme. He often hurt himself—self-injurious behaviors that broke his mother’s heart. I met them when he was five years old, and by then, those behaviors had caused real harm. I worked alongside his mom for about a year, and then one day, everything changed. The moment happened and mom was able to separate her son from his behaviors.
This boy, who still had very few words, shed his first tears since he was a year and a half old. From the time he was a toddler, it was as if his emotions had been taken from him. He didn’t cry. He didn’t share feelings. He was stoic, shut down, and disconnected. But that day, he cried. It was the beginning of healing.
His mom was learning what he needed, and he was beginning to feel again—feel the things he had buried for almost four and a half years. Today, he seeks his mom. Yes, he still needs time alone, but when he hurts himself, he goes to her for nurture. When he’s scared, he goes to her for comfort. When he’s sick, he goes to her for care. When he needs reassurance, he reaches for her touch.
Healing happens when we see the need—and then meet the need.(TBRI®) So grateful and honored for having the opportunity to be a part of families stories.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.
It was midday, the sun blazing overhead, when Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down beside a well in Samaria. The disciples had gone into town to buy food, leaving Him alone. As He rested, a woman approached, carrying her jar to draw water. She was a Samaritan—someone Jews typically avoided—but Jesus spoke first:
“Would you give me a drink?”
Startled, she asked, “How is it that You, a Jew, speak to me, a Samaritan woman?”
Jesus replied gently, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for water, you would ask Him—and He would give you living water.”
Confused, she said, “Sir, You have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where will You get this living water? Are You greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well?”
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. It will become a spring within them, welling up to eternal life.”
Her heart stirred. “Sir, give me this water so I won’t thirst or have to come here again.”
Then Jesus said, “Go, call your husband.”
“I have no husband,” she replied.
“You’re right,” Jesus said. “You’ve had five husbands, and the man you’re with now is not your husband.” -gospels Mathew and Luke
In that moment, she realized—this stranger knew her story. Not as gossip, not as judgment, but as truth spoken with grace. Many assume she was an adulteress, but I would say she was a woman cast aside and abandoned, broken by circumstances beyond her control. She came to the well at noon, avoiding the other women whose lives seemed perfect, whose laughter reminded her of what she lacked. She wanted solitude—but instead, she found the Savior.
Jesus saw her. Heard her. Valued her. He spoke to the deepest longing of her soul: “You’ve sought fulfillment in men, but they could not satisfy. I offer you more—living water. Immerse yourself in Me, and you will find rest.”
That day, her shame gave way to hope. She tasted grace and discovered her true identity—not in her past, but in the One who called her beloved.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.
It’s in the secret place — the time to quiet your soul and set it aside for the Spirit to take the lead. The space where you see and experience what cannot be explained. A new season is here, and in this season, I know He is near.
There’s a longing within everyone for intimacy — a place of being known. But for me, in this time and season, He simply says, “Dance with Me.”
It’s my heart’s desire to stay in step with You, Lord, to follow the rhythm where Your Spirit leads.
Having these conversations with the Holy Spirit is something meant for every believer — to fully trust, to believe, and to watch life unfold in a new, rhythmic way that could never have been imagined.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.
The journey of my yellow chair continues this time to the West Coast in California.
Everyone has a secret place with Him—whether they realize it or not. When you learn to quiet yourself and still your mind, He will take you there. In that space, He reveals the details of your connection with Him, offering a place of refuge when life feels overwhelming—a space where your soul, body, and spirit come into alignment.
It is an honor to walk alongside His Children and help them discover their true identity as a child of God: to be seen, heard, and valued by Him.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.
I spend a lot of time in people’s homes, working one-on-one with families to implement Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). It’s a deeply relational process, and over time, something special happens—there’s a moment when I know I’ve been fully welcomed into their world. It’s subtle, but unmistakable. I’m no longer just a visitor; I’m part of the rhythm of their lives.
One evening, that moment came wrapped in a tiny hand offering me a Sour Patch Kids and a teenager leaping out of the shadows wearing a terrifying mask. I’ll admit it—I screamed very loudly. And then I laughed even harder.
That night wasn’t just about candy and costumes. It was about connection. It was about being invited into the messy, joyful, unpredictable reality of a family learning to love without conditions and live life more fully.
TBRI® isn’t just a framework—it’s a way of being. It’s about helping families discover how to love without expectations, how to regulate through frustration, and how to build trust one moment at a time. And sometimes, those moments come with a jump scare and a handful of sour candy.
I’m grateful every day for the opportunity to walk alongside families on this journey. Because healing happens in relationship—and sometimes, in laughter.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.”
One of the greatest honors in my work is stepping into families’ homes and helping them implement Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). At its core, TBRI® is about healing relationships through connection, and it’s guided by three simple—but powerful—relational rules:
Stick Together
No Hurts
Have Fun
Recently, I had the joy of watching a family take on a deceptively simple challenge: building a tower using a deck of cards. What unfolded was more than just a game—it was a lesson in regulation, teamwork, and connection.
There were moments of frustration. The cards didn’t stack the way they hoped. Tempers flared. But something beautiful happened too: laughter broke through. The family began to lean on each other, problem-solve together, and find joy in the process—not just the outcome.
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.”
I was introduced to a new form of art—quick sketches, simple designs filled in later. They’re not polished or perfect. They’re meant to capture an idea, a whisper, a moment. And I’ve found that the thoughts the Holy Spirit gives me are best caught this way—before they drift away.
There was a time when I was the least of these.
My world was imploding. I didn’t know what to do. Some days, it was hard to breathe. Everything I knew was gone. Everything I longed for—finished. What I thought was truth… in some ways, it was. But in many ways, it wasn’t. I was living in a reality I had created, shaped by what I knew. There was truth in that time, but I didn’t yet have the right words for it.
In those early days, I had a dear friend who walked with me. I miss her. Her kindness. Her willingness to just let me cry—sometimes right there in the middle of the aisle at Walmart. She didn’t try to fix it. She just let me cry. And it was exactly what I needed.
I’m grateful for her.
These sketches—these moments—are my way of remembering. Of honoring the journey. Of listening to the Spirit. They’re not just art. They’re prayers. They’re pieces of His grace, His Character, His Love.
My favorite place to be on the living room floor helping families learn a new way “to live” teaching them TBRI®️🤎
Visit Raivu Ministries at www.raivu.org to learn more about my work with families and individuals, “Building a community of people loving people- ensuring everyone is seen, heard, and valued.”
The Art of Jodi Lynn 