The Slow Way

It's the simple pleasures, isn't it? One of my favorite little joys is opening a Yogi tea bag, plopping the leaves into steaming water, and following the string to cup the tag and read the short quote printed on one side. (It's almost like cracking open a Chinese fortune cookie, but you don't feel uncomfortably …

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Busy Busy

The pilot's voice booms over the intercom: "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is we're lost; the good news is we're making great time!" Doesn't that ring so true in our busy, busy lives?? When we accidentally hit that pause in the hustle, we look around and wonder where we're even …

Beloved-Self, Not Self-Love

I’ve struggled with buying into this concept of self-love for awhile. It’s the trend, and I’m always wary of those. Especially if something deep in my spirit pings at the sound of it. Before accepting a fad as gospel, I try to test it against God’s Word. Through this lens and exploring wiser sources than …

Masai Mara Safari

"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? …

26 Reflections on Silence

I "checked myself in" for a 3-day private Silent Retreat at a Benedictine Monastery this week. Nestled into the San Bernardino mountains in Southern California, St. Andrew's Abbey is not necessarily a beautiful location. But the prayers and reverence for God that cover the small acreage bring a tangible peace for retreatants. As I clipped …

Discovering Tuscany: Florence Edition

The guidebooks were correct on one thing: Florence is overflowing with tourists. I heard more English or German being spoken than I did Italian in this city of over 360,000 locals. If tourists are swarming, it must be for good reason. I almost didn't go because of low expectations and a lingering tiredness from the …