As I stare at the six graduation party invites I received this last week, I can’t help but think about my high school graduation. It’s been ten years since I walked across the stage to receive my high school diploma. There was all kinds of advice people gave me when I graduated. Don’t go home … Continue reading dear 17 year old self…

Last fall, I walked through the hard season of grieving Dayo, and it was all new and surprising and difficult. As I processed and opened up, I found comfort in knowing I wasn’t walking through this journey alone.  I asked hard questions and cried for weeks. I sensed people watched me, some day after day, … Continue reading peace

Last night I sat with eight courageous, curious college girls as we read confusing Scripture and asked hard questions. We talked about how God takes dark, hard seasons and does something beautiful in and through them, and most of the time it's not initially obvious. We confessed how deep, gut-wrenching pain makes us question whether … Continue reading the fog lifted

Joy to the world, I sing. But then I read news articles that seem to prove the exact opposite. Where is the joy in this world? All I see is sadness, destruction, anger, and pain. Cognitively, I know joy isn't the same as happiness. But I've been wrestling lately; what is joy really? What does joy … Continue reading joy arrives

I remember this one time I told my friend, scared at the thought of moving into an apartment all alone, that she is never actually alone. We talked about God’s omnipresence, sharing the desire to rest secure knowing that He is always with us. I watched that truth flood her soul over the next few … Continue reading never alone

I shuffle my feet out the bedroom, wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I lift the tea kettle, making sure there's enough water leftover from yesterday to reuse. This makes some people grossed out. Not me. Click, click, whoosh. I light the gas stove and begin heating the water. For the next twenty minutes, … Continue reading tea’s kindness

I made supper with a friend last night, an easy and healthy creamy sun-dried tomato parmesan chicken over a bed of edamame noodles. It was so delicious, I almost died. Fresh off the airplane from Kenya, this sweet, top-knot-loving, jet-lagged girl shared story after story of her adventures overseas. Pretending I was still in college, … Continue reading wanderlust

I don't do well with countdowns. Most of the time, I'm impatient and annoyed with how slow time goes. As a little girl, the season of waiting before Christmas, was excruciatingly painful - Christmas morning couldn't come fast enough. Every song, every snowflake, every ornament pointed to the moment when I could rip off wrapping … Continue reading nine days

I’m terrified of writing. It’s not the words or the grammar that spook me, but the humanness writing brings out in me. Writing makes me feel exposed and empty. With each keystroke, the walls come down and I get a little more honest with myself. I’m not so good with vulnerability, I’m often afraid I’ll … Continue reading acting as if