Like a lot of people, I went through a period where I was obsessed with the show Friends. I can tell myself all day long that it’s because Joey was so funny or Monica made me feel seen as a lovable control freak, but looking back I know it was because I couldn’t believe how Read More
Ordinary…Or Extraordinary?
DREAMING OF SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY My husband and I used to watch the t.v. show Fixer Upper. We watched as Chip and Joanna Gaines worked with different people to build the houses of their dreams. It was amazing to see how they could transform an ordinary or run-down house into something dreamy and extraordinary. It appeared Read More
A Note on Steadfastness and a Burgeoning Mustard Seed
In my profession, you must prove you can research to prove you are apt to teach. What I mean by this is that many colleges that hire graduate students who complete their doctoral programs look for candidates who have demonstrated their research capabilities in the form of journal publications. Until recently, I was dismayed by Read More
A Brief Return to The Lost Art of Agreeing to Disagree
As election season nears, our country is reminded once again how unable we are to disagree peacefully with one another. I have been thinking about how this polarization manifests itself in the church while looking to scripture. The greatest hurdle the church has to overcome is its own members. We are all looking for the Read More
Compassion Over Judgment
Compassion over judgment is a phrase that I started repeating over and over in this past Lenten season because my priest’s homilies continuously centered on compassion and judgment. You see the thing I have learned recently is that judgment causes you to see someone in a narrow-minded way. It does not allow your brain to Read More
Gentle and Lowly: The Character of Christ
Jesus often spoke about Himself in metaphorical and absolute language throughout the Gospel of John. A few examples of this: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). “I am the door” (John 10:9). “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) “I am the bread of life” (6:35) But Read More
Making Sense of Rhetorical Choices in Scripture and Leaving the Rest
Someone who read my blog in response to Jonah recently asked me if I believed that he really lived in the fish for three days. Questions like these seem to trouble as many seasoned believers as they do people new to the faith who are trying to reconcile the supernatural. “Did Job really happen as Read More
A Reminder to Remember: The Necessity for Fidelity in All Seasons
My girlfriend’s grandmother said something recently that has been present on my mind: “You can’t out-give God.” Whether it is time, money, energy, or lately, remembrance, you can never outmatch the everlasting love of our heavenly Father. I came to a verse in Jonah that spoke to this idea of remembering the free-flowing gifts of Read More
Bridges
MY ENCOUNTER WITH A BRIDGE I recently visited my Great Aunt Ann, who is 90 years old. We were talking about church and family history. History is something we both love to study and talk about. In our conversation, I brought up the fact that she personally knew some people who were born and lived Read More
It’s Not About Me
“We study scripture to be reminded of who God is, so He can reveal Himself to us and we can know Him even more deeply” – Fr. Mike Schmitz Back when I was at the height of my mental health struggles, I started having thoughts about whether the bible actually impacted or even spoke to Read More