The Pudgy Cat

Here is my latest blog that I wrote about my mom's recent passing.

My mother passed away last month after receiving a liver transplant. For those of you who have experienced the transplant process, you know the emotional whiplash– waiting for a donor, having the donor rejected or fall through, the post-surgery issues that rise up and then resolve. Each moment feels like you either feel the anxiety of the next hurdle or the relief of having passed the next…

the apostasy of church: Abandoning the faith

People are leaving the Church in droves. With the whirlwind of COVID restrictions over the past few years, a topic resurfaced in Church conversations: church attendance. Many of us could not attend church in person, not necessarily by choice. When our choice was given back, we didn’t always choose to go back. Some of us were leery of church members being sensible about COVID guidelines. Or…

I finished a doctoral program in December, which marked an exciting moment in my life. I’m no longer in school for the first time since I was six. After each degree, I jumped into the next one, the only break being certifications. It was a blessing to work towards my education, knowing that so many cannot pursue higher education. Honestly, I also enjoy being a student and working towards…

California: Rock Climbing & Redwoods

Giles and I recently trekked out to California, a trip I had postponed for far too long. Every year, we mean to go out and visit and every year, we didn’t. Granted, the past few years were fairly easy to excuse. We had several rounds of visits to make, and we weren’t sure what to expect from any of them. Round One: Southern California After an hour and a half at the car rental, we finally made…

My latest blog on waiting

I am an unabashedly impatient person when it comes to waiting for God to move. From what I see of the characters within the Bible, I am not alone in this struggle. There is a realness in the biblical narrative that make my own struggles ‘fit’ within the context of my faith. Impatience does not seem to disqualify anyone. On the other hand, there seems to be a difficulty in taking a bold move to…

Untying Yourself From the Past: Forgiveness

I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately, which of course means that I have been trying to have greater forgiveness in my own life. There are certain Unforgiveness for a Past Event Discuss how the unforgiveness is rooted in the past Unforgiveness Regurgitates the Past Unforgiveness brings you back to that place– the trigger and the context of the trigger Unforgiveness Grounds us…

Fruits of the Spirit & Personality

Let me start off by saying that personality tests are one of my favorite pastimes (and forms of procrastination). I’m always eager to learn which character from the Big Bang Theory encapsulates my personality (sigh…. Leonard’s mom with a dash of Bernadette). However, the obsession with personality tests have resulted in some unfortunate outcomes. While self-awareness can be a powerful practice,…

All the Things I Don’t Know

It’s no secret that I have a problem with pride. I cut people off mid-sentence, I always seem to respond to people sharing with, “yeah, I know”, and when people ask me if I know about something, I of course must claim to be at least familiar with the topic. This makes me essentially no different than the casual Facebook user, which is the mark of an area for personal growth. Changes in the…

All the Things I Don’t Know

It’s no secret that I have a problem with pride. I cut people off mid-sentence, I always seem to respond to people sharing with, “yeah, I know”, and when people ask me if I know about something, I of course must claim to be at least familiar with the topic. This makes me essentially no different than the casual Facebook user, which is the mark of an area for personal growth. Changes in the…

Inactivity is not Always Rest: Seeking True Refreshment

We find ourselves in a season of global exhaustion, in which all seem attacked by fatigue. Despite the claims of ‘forced rest’ in the consequences of COVID, many of us are maintaining our workloads, but with additional constraints. Regardless of whether we are able to continue work or not, there are fewer events in our planners. Events are being cancelled or moving online, and ‘going out’ has…

Harnessing Fear to Drive Prayers

Regardless of where you stand on current issues, there is no denying the heavy role that fear is playing within our current society. No matter which nation or community, there seems to be one crisis after the next, without a moment to breathe between. My church is addressing a series of attacks people seem to be facing during this season, with the first of these being fear.

“Avoiding danger…

The Privilege of Having Been Born White

My first memory of having heard of the concept “white privilege” happened after a wealthy, white politician was blatantly guilty of having committed a crime, but rubbed elbows with the right person and was barely slapped on the wrist. I couldn’t tell you who it was or what he had done (a white politician doing something scandalous is beyond commonplace), but I remember the response of those…

The fall weather is finally here and it has brought the comfort food and warm beverages that I’ve waited for! This year, I tried my hand at homemade apple cider, instead of store bought. This required a lot more work than I had anticipated, but it did not disappoint.

Prep time 10 mins Cook time 8 hours Total time 8 hours 10 mins

Ingredients

5 LBS Apples, Sliced (I used half…

Staying Grounded : When your personal values conflict with those in your field

In today’s world, it seems that we are all surrounded by dilemmas– having to choose between different values. It’s everywhere we turn–it can be difficult to navigate the competing values and even more so when it seems to be pervasive in your field.

International Psychology

I have just spent a little over a week in South Africa, as part of my doctoral program. I am currently working on my…

Tolerance v Challenging: The Commitment of Restoring Society

Society always corrects itself, but it always overcorrects. It was not that long ago that discrimination was blatantly praised. It’s undeniable that inequalities still thrive in the US, and I am certainly not going to make light of just how powerfully intolerance has seemed to seep through. But our society has seemed to transition to at least an attempt towards justice. Specifically, there is at…

To All My Former Friends: An open apology to half the people I’ve met

When New Years comes around, I never create resolutions. As someone who has never stopped attending or teaching school, I will always see August as the beginning of the year. No, this is the time for reflection and for cleaning house. Speaking of which, I’m getting ready to move into a new house. This provides me the opportunity to reconnect with former friends. Friends that were a significant…

Peru Part Two: Non-Profit Organizations

While I never got a chance to see Machu Picchu, my purpose in visiting Peru was for my doctorate. We learned of the culture, and how to interact as professionals. I loved learning of the history of Peru and being able to see how it has directly related to their lives, today. But all that aside, it was not the intended purpose. We mainly visited nonprofit organizations, which showed a powerful…