I spend a good chunk of time every week preparing to preach the word of God through liturgy choices, attention to hymns, exegetical work, praying, listening, dreaming, and writing. And I forget sometimes that I need to hear the good news preached, too. I am, after all, just as human as the rest of…
Ministry in Heels
life as a young adult pastor
What can thrive here? #growrule
Last year I took four weeks of spiritual renewal leave and wanted to focus on cultivation… in relationships, in my spiritual life, and literally, in my back yard. I had far more intentions than time, but I was able to manage to clear out one entire section of the retaining wall (seen behind the…
Momentum for Life: Eating & Exercise
About ten years ago, I was living in Nashville and was in the middle of my seminary journey. I was overwhelmed by studying and coursework and I was working full time at a local church as a part of an internship. I was burning the candle at both ends and learning a lot… but I…
Blogging as a form of Public Theology
I just spent the last couple of days in Washington, D.C. exploring what it means to be a public theologian. Over the last year, I have been part of the Lewis Center’s Community Leadership Fellows Program. We have gathered for three day sessions together at Wesley’s downtown campus in order to reflect upon the role…
The Blue Couch #NaBloPoMo
In my sophomore year of college, Brandon asked me to take a road trip with him. We drove to Madison, where his sister was living, to rescue a big blue couch before it went in the dumpster. She called because she thought it was an awesome couch and couldn’t believe her office building was just…
Church Clothes #NaBloPoMo
I was never someone who was really concerned about style growing up. I had some hand me down outfits from cousins, I wore a lot of t-shirts and jeans. I remember a pair or two of stirrup pants in there. Fashion wasn’t my thing. As an adult, however, I’m starting to lean into fashion. I…
Apps and Folders
How you categorize something matters. It speaks to the importance you place on it and the function it serves. My smart phone has the ability to create folders for my home pages and various apps go in them. I have one for tools (flashlight, calculator, etc.). There is one labeled fun (Netflix, Pandora, and whatever…
Competing Goals
One of my goals for this renewal leave was to cook more meals in the evening for myself and my husband. It is something I love to do, and I use about two more pots or utensils than I need and make a lovely delicious mess every time. But I love to cook. I love…