Elizabeth Elliot. For some, the name calls to mind her many books – Shadow of the Almighty, Passion and Purity, Through Gates of Splendor, and The Savage my Kinsman among others. For others the name is associated with the story of her first husband, Jim, killed by a tribe in Ecuador. Some may have heard…

My childhood memory snapshots are full of playing games with my dad, waiting for him to come home from work, going out for birthday breakfast with him, getting donuts on Saturday mornings, and taking road trips with my dad driving. One year, my dad taught us science. We did experiments that had to do with…

Richards, E. Randolph, and Brandon J. O’Brien. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2012. In Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, Randy and Brandon pull from years of personal experience and faithful biblical study to present us with the stark fact that our cultural assumptions, when they go unnoticed, may cause us to…

Early in High School, one of my closest friends participated in a fundraiser called “Dressember.” She wore a dress every day for the month of December and used that time to raise money that would go toward ending human trafficking. Through this friend, I was introduced to the concept of modern-day slavery.   The next…

Our Bible lesson was done. I wasn’t sure the kids had retained any of the information I had just tried to impart to them. They’d been squirely, seemingly unable to sit still. I had to interrupt my story several times to remind them not to move from their spot. The three in the back had…

I tried to feel festive. I tried to get into the “Christmas Spirit.” I went to Christmas parties. I helped out with the kids Christmas program. I wore red and green. I went to a concert. I participated in gift exchanges. I put up Christmas decorations. I went to look at Christmas light displays. I…

Fiction “Enjoy” is probably the wrong word for Khaled Hossenini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. These books are set in Afghanistan in times of turbulence. The violence and heartbreak is described in great detail, perhaps too much detail at times. I read them because I wanted to understand, a little more, the…

It doesn’t feel real. It can’t be. This journey can’t be over – it’s not possible. I’m talking about my massive “Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Civilizations” class. Five semesters. 21 units. 30 entire books, plus countless excerpts. Unnumbered hours of reading, thinking, wrestling, and discussing. Some of you may have heard me talk about…

Have you ever desired to look or act like someone else? I think we all do it in one way or another as children or in our teenage years. Can you look or act like them if you don’t know what they look or act like? No, of course not. You have to study them…

Last semester in my psychology class, we talked about the phrase “cognitive dissonance.” This is the internal discomfort you feel when your actions do not match your beliefs and words. In other words, it is knowing you are a hypocrite and being uncomfortable with your hypocrisy. And so when I started reading When Helping Hurts…