• Community

    So Close…

    Tweet First off, I apologize for the lack of blogging lately. My schedule has gotten a bit ridiculous as of late. A master’s degree and a full-time job are plenty to keep me busy, but add a relationship, an extra grant writing class, trying to get a paper published, a volunteer project at the YWCA, an avid exercise program, church, trying to fundraise for my Myanmar trip, occasionally a social event and well, I feel accomplished if I have eaten three meals that day!   However, it’s October 26th and in a little over two months, I will be getting on a plane and flying a VERY long way to Myanmar.  And so…

  • Faith

    Drumroll Please…..

    Tweet I have $1545 raised towards my Myanmar trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     God is soo good!!!  In a month, I have raised half the funds I need to go!  I have spent the last month researching grants, organizations already working over there, and praying.  I am getting so excited about the trip and more importantly the spiritual journey I am embarking on. God is daily breaking my heart and teaching me to trust Him for each and every detail of my life. Even down to things like raising money and paying bills.   I still need to raise $1,455 so if you would like to support my trip, I would love…

  • Faith

    Step #1 Is…

    Tweet I am going!!!  Please read below for all the details:) Dear friends and family,   I hope this letter brings with it some cooler weather and finds you healthy, happy, and enjoying all the wonderful things fall has to offer! Some of you, I talk to and see every day and some of you are constantly in my thoughts despite distance and schedules separating our ability to communicate daily.  Life has changed a lot over the past several years, and I am about to embark on a new exciting adventure! Four years ago this time, I was sending out a similar letter in preparation for a trip to Africa.…

  • Faith

    Buckle Your Seatbelt

    Tweet Seriously.   Normally I write blog posts after much thought, contemplation, and serious reflection.  Today, however, I just need to write because right now I am not sure I could tell you which way is up.   Three years ago I spent a very transformative two months in Africa. Life-altering is perhaps a better word. I mean, literally, the direction I thought my life was going in took a 180 degree turn. And while I could share with you story after story of why, it really boils down to one 30 minute home visit in which a naked child sat on my lap. In that moment, I felt helpless, out-of-place, and…

  • Social Justice

    The Start of a Dream

    Tweet I have a dream.  A really big dream. One of those dreams most people would laugh off as “impossible.” Sometimes when I think about it I feel like a kid again-you know, back when you thought anything was possible. I forget sometimes I am an adult and am supposed to have practical, pay-the-bills type of dreams.  I wonder if the dream is even possible or if I will ever find people willing to invest in the vision.  I wonder often why God choose this issue to break my heart. Why this burden to bear?   Lately though, I have decided to throw caution to the wind and start pursuing my dream. I have not quit…

  • Life Inspiration

    Global Leadership Summit 2012 Recap

    Tweet Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.- Anthony J. D’Angelo While most people may spend their vacations on the beach, I took two of my vacation days and spent them at a leadership conference. In fact, throughout the past few years most of my vacations have been used to attend conferences. A long time ago I developed a love for learning and since my church is a host site for the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit I decided to go this year. Let me assure you, it was worth every bit of the two days I took off work. The amount of knowledge I gained…

  • Faith

    Have2Give1

    Tweet It started with a story from a book. About a community that participated in an experiment. For everything they had two of, they gave one away. Like it says in Luke 3:11,  “If you have two coats, give one away,” he said. “Do the same with your food.” As I began looking around, I realized I have way more than two coats. I have like 7.   Add on the fact I am moving yet again and despite having just moved a year ago, have accumulated quite a good bit of stuff. Granted I have spent very little on all that stuff-in fact, one of my favorite claims is I…

  • Community

    Stand Up

    Tweet “Stand up, Stand up, Stand up, all you dreamers..” *   Spend five minutes talking to anyone under the age of 12 and you will more than likely hear about some dream they have. Especially if you ask them. It is one of my favorite things about listening to little children-they have so many dreams. Sometimes they are dreams like wanting to be doctors or singers and sometimes they are dreams like wanting orphans to be adopted or children to have food. In every case, in their mind, the world is limitless.   But something happens as we get older. We start to see limits. We listen to voices who try to quiet…

  • Faith

    The Journey of a Thousand Miles..

    Tweet ..begins with a single step. Lao-tzu   This has always been one of my favorite quotes. Perhaps because I so often struggle with the whole “taking-a-single-step” thing. I want to take 50 or 100 and climb mountains in a single leap and tackle the impossible in 5 minutes instead of taking one step.    I have had to remind myself a lot lately to take that one step. Once the whirlwind of two summer classes ended, my idle mind gave me lots of ammunition for emotional breakdowns and depressed moments. Whether it was over relationships, work, or life, it seems lately there have been more bad days and more phone…