The Ones Behind You
I’m learning that when you turn left on certain roads in my town, you’ll stay there forever as you wait to turn. But cars turning right–those who would by now have been on their merry way–must patiently wait behind you. Unless you leave some kind room for them. If I scoot my car a bit […]
A Good Bad Day
Last night, for a variety of reasons, I couldn’t sleep. At all. At all! I finally fell asleep around 3:30 AM only to waken at 6:00 AM for the morning routine. I left for campus, zombie-like and barely groomed. As I’m walking to my class in a haze, I tell God I have nothing to […]
A Theology of Grading
I pray as I embark on the arduous and least favorite task of teaching: grading. I teach 50 students each semester, and grading their long, complex advanced writing essays takes up the better part of my week. But I’m learning to love it. I’m learning to see it as a kind of worship. I think […]
Alone Together
I’m sitting in Penn State’s student union (the HUB), and wonderfully energetic and loud music plays over a loudspeaker. It’s fun and festive–just the thing for a mid-morning boost. Yet, I feel like the only one listening to this public music. Everyone around me wears their headphones. I remember the day when listening to music […]
The Life You’re Wanting
When you feel frantic about building your perfect life or when you feel overwhelmed about what you should be doing, remember this: Simply surrender to God and ask Him to bring abundant life to you. He will. That’s what He does. The promise of John 10:10 stands: “I have come that you may have […]
Two Questions for When You Feel Uncertain
Whenever I feel like I’m veering off course from what God intends for me–whether I’m confused about a decision to make or uncertain about an activity–I remember to ask the right questions. Think about a decision you face. Maybe it’s something small but nagging like a question you have about your activity on social media. […]
After a Terrible Week, We Asked This
For a variety of reasons, my students collectively endured a terrible week. The enter class complaining of illnesses, stress, disillusionment, and a litany of disappointments. And what about the week’s news that started with a college admission scandal and ended with another mass shooting? On Fridays like these, I always use the same Name Game: […]
Serving Pie on Pi Day
You know I’m not a math person at all. At all. But when my youngest reminds me to serve pie–in particular apple pie–for Pi day, I find myself excited. (Every family, I think, has a child that’s the “Keeper of the Traditions.” For us, it’s my youngest, Kate). It’s not just pie, though. It’s all […]
Your Mother or Father Role to All
This morning, I reflected upon the number of people in my life who never had loving mothers or fathers, at least in the biological sense. The pain of what’s missing for them haunts their daily lives. They long for a blessing that seems God denied them somehow. As I consider the heart of God as […]
A Love Better Than Life
As a searching nineteen year old who longed so deeply to know God, I remember hearing a woman quote Psalm 63:3. It was summertime, and, like most young adults who decide to follow Jesus, I had made painful decisions to end relationships, surrender my future, and begin the beautiful but fraught journey of consecration. Was […]