“Growing older is mandatory, but growing up is optional”- Walt Disney (hopefully) I used to think that I worked best under pressure, which is why I procrastinated so much on school projects, papers, cleaning my room, etc. As I’ve ‘aged’ and reflected, the truth is that when a mountain of a task is in front of me I would rather tackle smaller, less urgent tasks than attack the elephant looming before me. I get avoidant. Why? Because eating the elephant may take a lot of time,

Sometimes I just have to say, “I believe God.” Whether it’s in direct defiance of Satan whispering in my ear or to back myself off the edge. I just have to say it. I’m just gonna believe God. We can get flighty in our minds. The enemy’s objective is to take us out of our game and the mind is where it starts. We will get anxious about our lives. Where am I headed? What’s the plan? I should probably be there soon, right? We will even obsess over the state of our relationship wi

I graduated from college a little early, two years early to be exact. With that I was tossed into the world to participate as an adult among adults. What does that mean? It means I constantly feel like I’m infiltrating the secret world of grown ups. It means that women who taught me when I was in school are now my co-workers. It means they want me to defy all my years of home training and call them by their first names. It means that ‘children’ 2 years younger than I are made

I ran a therapy group at the local juvenile detention center for about 5 weeks as part of my internship this past semester. It was amazing. I learned so much. My experience with the girls was transformative to say the least. So the girls. When they saw me they would stare at me, gawk when I talked, and bombard me with all kinds of questions. They started out innocent enough- did you play sports in school? Are you in college? They’d ask me about my hair or my major. Those were

When I first started out as a high school teacher at the tender age of 20, I quickly began to realize something about my even younger pupils. They held some very interesting views about Latinos, women, Muslims, immigrants, and the like. Having just come from the outside world of college and whatnot I knew very well how poorly these views would serve them outside of the walls where so many had nearly grown up. So, thinking I was doing them a favor, I sought to offer more expos

So my life. I refrain from saying it is in upheaval because it is not, but it does seem as though major renovations and overhauls are taking place. In August, I started graduate school and my second year teaching. My parents took on a demanding position at the school. My oldest brother left for college in a nearby city and my youngest brother started high school. And meanwhile the little sisters still have their miniature worlds ever twirling- you know, birthday parties, girl

So you must know by now...I’m pretty interested in getting married. And that’s ok. A year ago I could not have openly admitted the first statement- I was terribly ashamed of desiring marriage so strongly. A month ago I would not have said that my desire was ok. Two years ago, I would not even be typing these thoughts to ANYONE much less the intergalactic web. I guess I have come a long way. As I reflect on my journey, I wonder how the newly improved 13439584635224.0 version o

So confession moment: I have never been stellar at waiting or uncertainty. Both feel like nails on a chalkboard to my get-it-done, Queen of Planning, Type A personality. I don’t like it. God, however, seems to really enjoy these spaces because 90% of our lives take place while we are waiting on something or other- a job, a raise, moving, a degree, a relationship, our lives to finally begin, etc. One such big waiting space was the Wilderness for the children of Israel. God had

The older I get, the more I am actually learning about myself. For instance, there are simply times when being single just happens to be a box I check, while there are other more uncomfortable times of singleness being a little tricky to handle. There are just times that are opportune. The holidays for example! Everyone is bundled up, in a family type of way. Then there’s you. No one to cuddle with. No one’s hand to hold. You’re all alone. Sound familiar? You have got to hear

This question was posed to me in an anonymous Q&A session on a slip of paper. Gah, if only we always felt the safety and courage to ask questions so freshly lifted from our pitter-pattering hearts. I loved it. Maybe it was because I wrestle with that kind of apathy regularly or maybe it was because it was so counter-cultural to the Christianese we hide behind, but whatever the reason that wafting fragrance of authenticity grabbed my guts. I didn’t get to respond in the profou