I despise feeling weak or limited. Yet I am constantly reminded of my weaknesses and limitations. My back hurts. I need to eat. I have to put my books down and sleep. I get sick because I’ve pushed myself too hard. I run out of ideas for how to help a student with challenging behaviors….

This weekend, my boyfriend and I spent about an hour with a pair of Mormon Missionaries. He has been in contact with these guys for a couple of weeks and had met with them once before, and invited me join in this time. They wanted to share a message/lesson with us, and we agreed, as…

This was the year that I reached the point, as C.S. Lewis would say, that I realized I am old enough to enjoy fairy tales again. I read and thoroughly enjoyed all four books of The Wingfeather Saga, which is rich with redemption and faith themes. I also re-read some of The Chronicles of Narnia…

This year for Advent I decided to try a new resource for my personal devotional time. I picked up a copy of O Come, O Come Emmanuel – A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany. I am so excited to share this resource with you. It has stirred my heart to reflect on…

Music has a way of embedding itself in my brain and becoming very meaningful to me. I also have a knack for stumbling across new songs that seem fit my particular situation at that particular moment just perfectly. I thought it might be fun to go back through the music I listened to this year…

I’m struggling a little bit right now with the fact that it doesn’t seem like God is writing my story the way I thought he would and the way I hoped he would. Frankly, and I know this sounds arrogant and blasphemous, I don’t think God is doing it right.  Ever since I was young,…

On our first day in Thailand, we attended a worship service with the kids and staff at the ZOE children’s home. Our team stood on the stage and introduced ourselves to the room by saying our names. An instruction was given to the room in Thai, and almost before it had a chance to be…

Peterson, Andrew. Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2019. I finished Adorning the Dark in about five days flat. It would have been four days if I hadn’t spent one of those days getting things done around the house instead of reading. I don’t think…

Fujijmura, Makoto. Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for our Common Life. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2017. Culture Care was refreshing to my soul. It was like a breath of fresh air to pick up this book and read his words about beauty, shalom, culture care, and art. He writes like an artist (because he is…

One of the most fundamental aspects of loving your neighbor is treating other human beings like they are the image of God…because they are. Just as I am the image of God, so also is my neighbor, my brother, my sister, my friend, my roommate. There is dignity, worth, and value that are to be…