January 1 arrives like a gift. It is no ordinary day, as January 1 beckons forth a whole year’s worth of new days. January 1 holds in its palm a full measure of eager possibility, tinted with the promising hues…
I do things with my whole heart, and I can’t even help it. It really doesn’t matter what I’m doing; I am most often fully engaged and all-in. If my sixth grader asks for help with her math homework I…
Once upon a time I lived in the country of Chile for six months. It was quite a long time ago, during my junior year of college. There was a short list of Spanish minor requirements that would be met…
I’m planting seeds. I know it isn’t technically the right time of year for it, but I can’t help it. There is just something that comes over me in late August, something eternally excitable and optimistic about blooms and fruit…
Today I will go pick up my daughter from her first-ever week at overnight summer camp. I feel eager and expectant. I can't wait to see her and hear all about her experiences. I am a true fan of summer…
It is Saturday morning, and we’re pushing toward mid-July. Are you up early like me, trying to seek out a moment of quiet before the swelter settles over the day? Are you setting your sights on the day ahead, or…
Death came awfully close a few too many times in a few short days; much closer than I want to be realistic about, engage with, or have unexpectedly pop out from around the corner. I live like I’m alive. Death…
Winter can feel like a mean season. Winter can feel especially mean if you are an international student from the tropics and the temperature drops to single digits. Winter can feel mean when you don’t see the ice and you…
As I move though the season of Advent this year, my waiting and anticipation of the birth of Christ has had an eagerness to it that feels large. It is expectant. Today I traveled from Holland, Michigan to New York…
I learned my first Greek word the same day that I learned my first Hebrew word. I was a sophomore in college, and recently enrolled in a course entitled, “The Holy Spirit and Christian Spirituality.” One day our professor, Dr.…
