“This is my body, which is given for you. This is my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” For thousands of years, the Church, the Body of Christ has come to the table with Jesus. They have broken bread and drank wine, all this in…
On Dinners Around the Table
I have a thing for the table, for food and friends and a place to gather and share a meal. To me, there is something wonderful about this space, about staying in instead of going out. There’s something beautiful about inviting people to pull up a chair, fill up their plate, and stay awhile. For…
On Saying No
I am, I believe, leaving behind a season of busy. It’s been a season of rushing, of making it through the work day, of making it through a busy evening, of sleeping for a couple of hours, of starting the process all over again. Day after day after day. It’s been a season of investing…
Pause. Notice.
There’s a tree across the street from my house, just to the right, fully visible through the window panes of my front porch. It bends and twists and stretches slightly crooked up to the sky. On mornings like today, the sun touches it little by little, and it seems so impossibly vibrant, the green of…
Retreats and Reminders
A dear friend sent me to a little cabin in the woods one year ago in April. She noticed my frantic soul, my chaotic mind and loved me enough to pay for a weekend away. That same year, she would retreat to that same cabin, and it was then and there that the Lord would…
Because of the Life I Saw You Live
Dear Grandpa, I don’t think I understood “goodbye” until September 2016. Truly and honestly, nothing is ever really goodbye until the final breath is taken. And I don’t think I understood what saying “goodbye” to a family member would really feel like. But I’ve been living in that reality for a couple of weeks now,…
Living What You Love
“Part of growing up is declaring what you love.” This isn’t the first time this blog has seen these words, this simple and holy phrase. But in case you missed it the last thousand times I’ve copied these words, I stole them from Shauna Niequist’s book, Bread and Wine. I also realize that this isn’t…
22
Yesterday I turned 23. I received texts and cards and Facebook notifications. People said so many kind words, words that reminded me of who I am to others and encouraged me. I spent time on the pond with my family and ate more watermelon in eight hours than the past 22 years combined. It was…
Lean In
This summer I read Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In. It’s all about women in the workplace, especially in executive positions. Overall it was an interesting, and sometimes depressing, read. But there was a concept she wrote about for about a page that has stuck with me for months. She shared a story of going to…
No More Noise
It has become somewhat of a personal charge for me. No more noise. The transition out of college has been tough. It’s included family, spiritual, and personal struggles, essentially all the things life includes plus this strange thing of walking through life without the people who walked so closely with you in college. My brain…
Let’s Be Still
In the midst of emails, data analysis, research, interviews, and meetings, two songs have been on replay. They play through my headphones and echo long after I leave HOPE for the day. And with the summer winding down, they seem fitting. You can get lost in the music for hours, honey. You can get lost…
Teach Me To Depend
It’s been a week of parking tickets, thumbtacks dropped in coffee, nearly lost Word documents. Of meetings, greetings, and collapsing into bed at the end of the day. Of tasty meals, laughter during awkward moments, and community. Of training at part-time jobs, of hearing people’s stories, of escaping to the rolling hills of the country….
