Avoiding Eye Contact

We’ve all done it… Memorizing the wood grain in the coffee table. Staring past people’s shoulders at the nothing on the wall. Finding great interest in our cell phone – that has zero notifications. We’re avoiding eye contact. Maybe things got a little awkward, or you ran out of stuff to say, or you have …

Same-Same But Different

People in the States often ask me, “What’s it like there?” while people in Peru ask me, “How are you adjusting to life here?” It’s hard to explain what living in another country is like or what you feel as you get acclimated to a new culture. Part of what I experience is similar to …

Trials or Trails

Recently, I took a little road trip with my mom. We were coasting through beautiful mountains and admiring the views of endless hills and valleys overshadowed by puffy clouds. One morning, she was driving and I was reading when God dropped a thought in my mind. Bloop. {That's what it sounds like when the Holy …

We Should Be Tugboats

A while back, I was challenged by Annie Downs to find my life's thesis. (You can read more about having a life thesis in this other blog.) Through looking at what my thesis should be, I realized that I am kind of a tugboat. In a way, we are all strangely like tugboats. I didn't actually …

You are being Abused

Right now. Wherever you are in your life. You are being abused in a way that you do not even recognize. I'm not talking about your friend accidentally hurt your feelings and you should get upset about it because you were "abused". There is a very specific form of abuse that is unidentified and ignored. …

Ride the Tuk Tuk

When people ask me about Cambodia, I have trouble putting my experience into words. (Partly because I still felt jet lagged the first few days people asked and partly because I just wanted to burst into tears from emotional overload.) I was in Cambodia for only ten days, but it left an indelible mark on …

Continuations…

After my illustrious childhood call to missions (discussed previously), some time passed. I never forgot my call to missions, but I folded it up and stuffed in my mental closet labeled "Open when you find a husband and actually start to live life". I know. Sad, right? It is sad that I believed there were …

When God Romances With Miracles

The other day I had an epiphany. I was thinking of something that had happened to one of my friends, and in one moment something finally clicked in my mind. My friend’s dad had been going through a serious health problem. They were suddenly given some bad news about her dad’s health and told to …

Evolution of My Resolutions

As we come to the end of a year, many people are in the process of making complicated lists of how they will be better next year. New Year’s resolutions are tradition, but they often leave people filled with guilt. Most people realize at the end of December that their resolutions for next year will …

When the Father Says, “Stay”

One Sunday, I witnessed this moment. It probably took less than thirty seconds. It was probably immediately forgotten by everyone else present. But for some reason, it struck a chord in my heart which has been reverberating for a few weeks. Hearing that chord, I am still not sure what song it will make in …