As a Christian grieving the death of another Christian, the view of her loss doesn’t feel as defeating. It has given me a chance to rethink my world. Specifically, the things that I give space in my life and the things that I need to limit.
Category: Soul
The Apostasy of Church: Abandoning the Faith
People are leaving the Church in droves. With the whirlwind of COVID restrictions over the past few years, a topic resurfaced in Church conversations: church attendance. Many of us could not attend church in person, not necessarily by choice. When our choice was given back, we didn’t always choose to go back. Some of us… Continue reading
It’s in the Waiting
I am an unabashedly impatient person when it comes to waiting for God to move. From what I see of the characters within the Bible, I am not alone in this struggle. There is a realness in the biblical narrative that make my own struggles ‘fit’ within the context of my faith. Impatience does not seem to disqualify anyone.
Untying Yourself From the Past: Unforgiveness
I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately, which of course means that I have been trying to have greater forgiveness in my own life. For the most part, it takes a lot to make me angry and I forgive easily. While my pride is so powerful that it’s almost tangible, forgiveness is not something that I struggle with on a regular basis. With that being said, when I do get angry or struggle with unforgiveness, I find myself completely ignorant on how to move forward. So, I hold onto it and wallow in the emotions, hoping that it will magically resolve itself. So far, this has not been a successful solution.
Fruits of the Spirit & Personality
Let me start off by saying that personality tests are one of my favorite pastimes (and forms of procrastination). I’m always eager to learn which character from the Big Bang Theory encapsulates my personality (sigh…. Leonard’s mom with a dash of Bernadette). However, the obsession with personality tests have resulted in some unfortunate outcomes. While self-awareness can be a powerful practice, this is not always the underlying goal we hold.
Harnessing Fear to Drive Prayers
We cannot change the crises facing the world, but our response is solely our responsibility. These are not petty issues driving our fears, and certainly ‘worthy’ of a response. The question then becomes, “If the global crises are driving our fears, what are our fears driving?” And what is our response to our fears?
Tolerance v Challenging: The Commitment of Restoring Society
Society always corrects itself, but it always overcorrects. It was not that long ago that discrimination was blatantly praised. It’s undeniable that inequalities still thrive in the US, and I am certainly not going to make light of just how powerfully intolerance has seemed to seep through. But our society has seemed to transition to… Continue reading
To All My Former Friends: An open apology to half the people I’ve met
Have you ever cut people out of your life because they were toxic during that season? Have friendships ended because you didn’t want to be inconvenienced? Was that the right decision at the time? Is it still the right decision?
Teen Selfishness: What the Classroom Has Taught Me
The idea that teenagers can be self-absorbed isn’t the most revolutionary idea to share. This is something that every teacher sees happen just during the 5 minutes of passing period. If you are the parent of a teen (my heart goes out to you), or you’ve had the pleasure of encountering a teen in passing,… Continue reading
Social Support: Creating Your LifeLine
College ends so quickly and you realize that so do many of your friendships. Adulthood smacks you in the face and friendships become… work. Everyone has a full schedule and trying to collaborate to meet up for coffee is a great feat. Then, life happens and you get blind-sided. You realize that you never made… Continue reading
Vietnam: All is Merry & Bright
As many of you know, Vietnam is a place very dear to me. I feel drawn to the entire region of southeast Asia, but one of my dear friends is there a missionary (or ‘Associate Missionary’). For those of you who don’t know, Vietnam is one of five remaining Communist nations. This influences religious freedom… Continue reading
Peace on Earth : Just a Song or Part of Your Life?
Every year, we get what some call “Christmas cheer.” We sing about peace on Earth and globally unite to celebrate. But, do we mean the words that we sing? Or is it just a tradition? Anyone who knows me is aware of my struggle with this time of year. I love the meaning of Christmas,… Continue reading
Internal Gossip: The Lies We Tell Ourselves
Gossip can seem like an ambiguous idea. There is often a question of what actually constitutes gossip. Usually by people who feel that what they are doing isn’t gossip. Not really. They are concerned about this person and should find out if others are worried. And what if someone needs prayer? Should they not pass… Continue reading
Finding Your Emotional Center
Americans have every freedom a First World nation can afford (in some cases, more than we can). Yet, for all we’re free to do in our nation, we’re still not completely safe. We still face doubts, stresses, uncertainty, and being overwhelmed. This is not an uncommon thing that persecutes the few. This is a struggle… Continue reading
Divorce: The Great Church Taboo
Before any of you do something drastic and call my mother: Giles and I are happily married. The topic of divorce is comprehensive and I’m not going to try covering everything. I have a specific topic I would like to discuss. I’m always torn in two directions with controversial topics. I always want to know… Continue reading
How to Help the Suffering
Most people think they would be a great friend to turn to, should anyone need a shoulder to cry on. But how do we know that we aren’t comparable to Job’s friends, making everything so much worse? For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Job is a man facing loss in every part of… Continue reading
Did Jesus Struggle With God’s Will?
I know I must have attracted the attention of either the sceptics or the theologians, wondering what wild allegations I’m going to be making about Jesus and God’s will. And perhaps a third group known as ‘concerned relatives’. In pursuing holistic health, it can become easy to overlook my spiritual health. It’s always the final… Continue reading
Journaling Mini-Series: FREE Printables
For those of you just joining this series, “welcome!” and, I’ve made a few things just for you. For those of you needing a bit more guided journaling and direction to follow, I’ve created a few printables that I hope you’ll really enjoy. I’ve absolutely loved getting to know each of you and to show… Continue reading
Work and Health: Making Room for Both
Life can be jam-packed, and I don’t mean that it goes well with peanut butter. My life can easily become focused on succeeding at work– all of the tasks and meetings quickly fill my agenda. There will always be something else I can be doing at work. For all the checked off boxes, I will… Continue reading
3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Emotional Health
Time. It seems to be the root cause of all stress in life. If we only had more time, we could finally finish everything we need to complete. If we only had more time, we would then have the extra time needed to breathe for a moment. It’s easy to find ways to improve our… Continue reading