The spirit of fear comes to destroy us, if we let it. Learning how to choose peace instead of fear takes practice. Where do you start? Today I’m writing about my most recent fearful experience, and how I dealt with it. It’s a 2 – for – 1 Wednesday! This spirit slowly built inside of me until I was unable to think of anything else. My heart and emotions used to live in a guarded stone castle with a moat and hungry alligators. To hear the story, follow the rabbit to my friend A

I didn’t grow up practicing Lent, or any other practice of the Christian Calendar. Over the last five years as an adult, I’ve come to appreciate the value of these sacred practices. This year, I wanted to give up something for Lent but really struggled in my decision. I eat fairly healthy, so giving up some sort of food didn’t really make sense. I gave up Facebook last year, and thought it was weird to give up the same thing two years in a row. As I prayed about what to fast

Just going to paint a picture today. Hope you don’t mind the change of pace. Keep your eyes open for a new post on Wednesday! When you’re wading in waist-high water, it’s not really deep enough to swim, but deep enough that running is not an option. You push through the water as it pushes back. Waves might slow you down, and your feet sink into the sand. The beach ball you’re trying to rescue keeps floating further away. You keep walking, keep pushing, to reach the goal. As y

“I don’t want to see you get hurt”, a statement I’ve heard more than once recently. In these conversations, the sentiment is often followed with “Guard your heart”. Since I tend to take the Bible pretty seriously, and the words “Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” are written there, I think this is wise advice. However, I think that I’ve spent so much time guarding this precious heart of mine that the idea of opening it up to anybody is terrifying and nearly i

I originally wrote this post in October 2008. I wrote it as a journal entry, and never posted it. I’m sharing today as part of the Confession series, and adding new thoughts to the end. Today, I don’t want to go. I feel like this is such a sacrifice for me to go to Africa. Yeah, it’s Africa. It’s amazing. But I’m leaving Nashville. I won’t have a job when I get back, or a place to live. There are so many unknowns and I don’t like that. There is no Spanish in Africa. I want to

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, to say the least. I have a difficult time stopping to write it all down. I will try, though, to give you a little insight into what’s been going on. First, I bought a computer! I have been so inundated with work in my day job, that I haven’t been able to keep up with this blog and other outside work. I had been doing all of my research and meeting preparations during breaks and down times in my office, but those are few and far betwee

Alright! If you have not read the previous post, you would benefit to do so now. Here is how we need you. We want to get moving on starting this shelter. Much has already been done, and even more is already in the works. Meeting are taking place, documents are being created, things are moving, people. In the long term, I’m compiling a list of those who are already involved in the Nashville area, and those who want to be involved. If you’ve been looking for something to fight,

What does your lifestyle say about who you are and what you believe? Since I was 14 years old, my life mission has involved loving at-risk youth. At 14, I had no idea how this goal would be achieved or how to pursue it. My answer? College. I attended a fantastic University and four years later, held a Bachelor’s of Science in Family & Human Services. I described my degree as “it’s like social work, but not”. Descriptive, right? As a high school student, my future plans didn’t

If you know how to maneuver WordPress to make my blog fancy, feel free to offer your expertise. I’ll be glad to tell folks about you, but I won’t be paying you. I have spent a lot of time wandering. Trying to figure out my “place in this world”. If you’ve kept up with this blog at all, it’s mostly journaling my time in the great city of Nashville. This has included my quest for employment, volunteer opportunities, travel, and relationships. If you plotted a map of my life

” Indeed, how do I actually live with bravery, love and significance? And how do I lead others in that path? We have all had moments and glimpses of our own courage. We’ve all been brave when we needed to be. The question is, how can we live more like that? In fact, how can we live like that so consistently that it becomes who we actually are?” Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comm