Navigate / search

The Sum of Many Parts – My Friend Chelsea

There’s a lot of talk in many circles, both Christian and otherwise, that we were not made to be alone. “No man is an island” is something that came out of my pastor’s mouth many times when I was in high school. The more I study Scripture and the more I live on this crazy planet, the more I am convinced this is true. We need people in our lives, and not just so we can use them as rungs on our ladder to “success”. We need people to encourage and who will also encourage us when we’re down. We need to love and be loved, to serve and be served. We need, in a word, friends.

A few months ago when I started writing, one friend in particular was very encouraging to me. I joked with her that one day I would write a post about her. I don’t think she believed me, but today is that day. This will be the first post of many where I showcase one of my friends, who they are to me, and how they have helped shape me into the person I am. Read more

3 Keys to Thriving This Holiday Season

Every now and then I will read over a previous post and be really happy with it. Other times, I will wonder what I was thinking when I pressed publish. This post is born out of the latter experience. I just wasn’t happy with how the last post came out, so in many ways this is going to be what my last post was supposed to be: Three keys to thriving (not just surviving) this holiday season.

I previously mentioned that I work in a retail setting. Because of this I often see and experience the front lines of the Christmas craziness. We all have things we need to do, parties to attend, gifts to buy, and there’s never really enough time to make it all happen. All this hustle and bustle can leave us mentally, physically, and emotionally drained. We get sick, resentful, basically anything that is the opposite of the joy we’re supposed to be experiencing. The funny thing is that while we’re out there going crazy trying to buy gifts for someone, they’re probably somewhere else experiencing the same level of craziness and irritation. How did we get to this point? What happened to just looking forward to spending time with our loved ones? When did it become a season of lavish spending, gaudy gift giving, and this over all sense of bigger and better? If you’re at all like me, and you want to actually enjoy Christmas, to thrive and not just survive, here are three keys to help you get there this year. Read more

Seeking the Reason

Advent is my favorite season in the church calendar. It’s so easy to take Jesus’ life, death, and impact on the world for granted. Advent reminds us of Israel’s longing for the Messiah, for our need for Him, and that He came to change not just my own life but the entire world.

Advent also happens to coincide with my least favorite time of the year: The holiday shopping season. I work in a retail environment, so it’s really easy to be overwhelmed by the craziness of people rushing in and out of the store in what is often a frenzied dance of searching, grabbing, and trying to buy that perfect gift for their husband, wife, child, baby sitter, or even their second cousin’s friend. Sometimes they pick up extra gift cards just in case there’s someone they forgot about.

Is this really what Advent, what the Christmas season, is supposed to be about? Read more