The Impact of Trying

If you’re a regular around here, you already know that I’m a perfectionist (recovering!). I once sat on the floor at Whole Foods for 45 minutes comparing the protein content, calorie content, and prices of every kind of vegan protein powder. (Settled on this one, if you’re curious. Also it’s $20 cheaper on Amazon. Sigh, […]

The Lesson of Maasai Gate

My dad and youngest brother visited David and me recently. One day, on our way to a blown glass place (it was beautiful!), we took a short cut through the national park. The one with animals. I love Nairobi. David’s dad was driving (so glad I wasn’t), and we maneuvered several pathways that required more […]

Where’s Your Focus?

The disciples fascinate me. For the first time, I’ve read straight through from Matthew to John and they are intriguing characters when seen in one fell swoop. One thing that stuck out to me was how many times Jesus explicitly told them that He was going to (a) die and (b) rise again. Seriously. So many […]

The Most Refreshing Plane Ride Ever

I recently had to take a last minute international flight and I was stressed. I’d be without my husband and, although I’d flown dozens of times without him before we got married, I had really gotten used to his comforting presence amidst the stresses of travel. I was facing down my first 15-hour-straight flight and […]

Not Everyone Thinks Like You

The older I get, the more I value direct, clear, and compassionate communication. And the more I talk with people, the more I realize how different we all are. During teenage years, there’s the misconception that I am so different and no one can ever understand me and what I’m going through. While each experience is […]

The Importance of a Hobby

I was talking to one of my mentors a few weeks ago, and I was sharing how burnt out I felt. I’d been learning to use my time more efficiently, but unfortunately that just meant I was crowding more tasks into my day. I told him about my 4 different writing projects, my study habits, […]

How I’m Learning to Not Be Like My Puppy

Our puppy, Everest, has finished her training with our wonderful trainer, and she’s honestly made a lot of progress. She is still disobedient sometimes (much to my dismay), but she’s made leaps and bounds. Where she used to try to run after every motorcycle within 100 yards of her, she now ignores them unless they […]

Friends like Jonadab

The Biblical passage spanning the details of Amnon and Tamar (and Absalom and David…) is a heart-wrenching story. I have to mentally prepare myself before reading it, to be honest. As I read through it this time, I paid more attention to a “supporting actor,” as it were: Jonadab. Both Amnon’s friend and cousin (2 […]

Just Because

I think I first saw the idea from Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts. This first book centers on listing things you’re thankful for as an expression of praise and a focus of the mind on those things. I appreciated her focus on specificity: zoom in on the details of what you’re thankful for, […]

Lessons from David

Just a few days ago, my favorite human had a birthday. Though he seems desperate to say that we’re “basically 30” now, we are decidedly not 30 yet. Almost. But not yet! It’s the second time we’ve celebrated his birthday as a married couple, and I’ve gotta say that I’m just as obsessed with him as […]