How often have you heard, “People don’t change”? I’ve heard it said so many times, even had the phrase used against me as a way to dequalify my progress. I have even uttered it a few times myself. Sometimes, I truly believed it to be true. I believed at the very core, people don’t change. But at 48 years old, I’ve seen far more evidence to the contrary. I’ve witnessed small to radical changes in both the natural world and in the people I love. My daughter is a testiment to radical change. Her fifth grade year is near it’s close and that means a new school next year as…

Friday, I started my first double shift. Gardening from 6:30-3pm followed by 3:30-10pm at Costco. It was nice to ease into my new job without having to jet off to Costco, so Friday was the first of so many long days. It wasn’t so bad until about 9:15pm. My body screamed “enough”! Needless to say, I slept very well that night. In my effort to sleep in, I turned off my alarm and anticipated a Saturday lie in. Well, my body gave me an hour: 6:30 and I was up for the day! And it was day with a third shift. My daughter and I got busy spring cleaning. From…

I am no stranger to loss and to deep grief. The kind that shakes you to the bone, rattling your self-identity and requiring some outside help to deal and heal. Losing a brother and a sister, both to suicide, and then 3 first trimester miscarriages, I have faced difficult losses. The brokenness brought on by these are understandable and identifiable. Of course, there are stigmas involved with these and the population is largely silent about their realities and even perpetuates false assumptions and stereotypes surrounding miscarriage and suicide. But they are publicly acknowledged at the very least. Something people don’t really understand or talk about is emotional neglect and the…

As a former youth director, I am no stranger to teen slang. But the last time I was immersed in it was the early 2000’s. Since then, my age is showing. I am after all a Gen Xer, at least on the tail end of it. My micro-generation is Xiennial, and I do sometimes identify more with the Millenials than the Xers. I think that has something to do with being a late bloomer and waiting to have a child until I was nearly 35. Regardless of my generation, my daughter’s generation (Alpha) makes me feel a bit dated when it comes to slang. My high school lexicon would have…

Blessed Earth Day dear friends! This is a day I don’t normally celebrate, at least not since being a child and doing a special craft in its honor. Then I knew it had something to do with planet earth and appreciating it. As an adult, I did a little research as to the history and humble beginnings of this oft forgotten holiday. For this post, I went straight to earthday.org to get some basic information. Every year on April 22, Earth Day is a celebration that recognizes the environmental movement that began in 1970. The idea began with a junior senator in response to a major oil spill that had…

Recently, I have been interviewing with a number of different companies and one question I have been asked frequently goes something like this, “What are your career goals?” or “What would say is your number one career aspiration?” This gave me pause, and I’m going to use this blog to share some of my reflections and discoveries. If asked that question back in 1999, I would have quickly replied, “I am going to seminary and graduate school so I can become a social worker with an emphasis in Christian counseling for children and families. I want to help clients use their faith and Christian community to weather life’s storms and…

Blessed Easter my friends! Alleluia! Christ is Risen. He has risen Indeed! Alleluia! On Christmas two years ago, I was deeply impressed by a reading at our Candlelight and Carols service. It was such a beautiful weaving of the Christ’s birth and crucifixion rolled into one. I am sharing it here because it is such a profound starting point for the Easter story. The link is the full worship service. The narration begins at 24:30. Happy Easter! May the unfailing and all conquering love of Jesus Christ be made know to you. Today and in all days to come. For as we celebrate this Easter, may we live everyday as…

My prayer life has looked different throughout my life. As a child, our family always prayed before eating and again before going to bed. They were simple prayers that my dad learned when he was young. The Lord’s Prayer was also something I recited every Sunday, alongside my worshipping community. And in high school, my confirmation classes required I memorize Martin Luther’s “What Does This [Lord’s Prayer] Mean” and recite it in front of the church board. Most of my childhood prayers were memorized words, written by someone else and part of tradition established generations before me. To this day, I remember them and have taught my daughter to use…