I went on a run yesterday. I’ve always wanted to be a runner but have never been able to cultivate the strength and endurance and discipline to bring that dream to life. There are a few reasons for this. I’ve discovered some things about my body in the last few years. First, I have exercise … Continue reading How I Rediscovered A Practice That Helps Me Be Still & Know God
The past ten days have been a whirlwind of activity. I was in Texas for my best friend’s wedding and all the accompanying celebrations. While I was there, I had the chance to spend time with my family and friends in Houston, Galveston, Austin, and Waco. Each day was filled with fun and meaningful moments … Continue reading The Waves and the Vegetables
I always see homes filled with plants on Instagram and renovation shows and sigh longingly. My mom is a great gardener (my dad, too) so I grew up surrounded by indoor plants and a lush backyard garden. As for me? I kill succulents. I either give them too much attention, or not enough. Nick is … Continue reading Amidst the Plants
This week I’ve been transcribing interviews and sifting through photos from my time in Italy. I wrote this post right after I got back but had other things I wanted to share in those first few weeks of being home. Now seems like a good time to return to some of the things I experienced … Continue reading The Journey Home
When I was on pilgrimage in Italy this summer, something surprised me: I found myself craving plateaus. There is a hike here in Virginia that I have done a couple of times called Crabtree Falls. It is up, up, up for 2 miles. A series of switchbacks and stairs to the top of a waterfall. … Continue reading Learning to Love Plateaus
On a Friday afternoon I sat criss-cross-applesauce on the carpet in my first-grade classroom. Our teacher held up a glass of water and asked if we thought it would be fuller, less full, or go unchanged over the weekend if she left it sitting by the window. Six-year-old me quickly raised my hand and proclaimed … Continue reading A Glass Half Empty?
I’ve been home from Italy for a week now, and I’m slowly finding the words to share what it was like to meet a group of pilgrims and journey with them. In the wake of such a formative experience, I’m finding that slow is how I want to go. I want to slow down, to … Continue reading Slow Steps: Leaning into a Posture of Pilgrimage
I am writing this post just a few hours before I head to catch my overnight flight to Italy. As you are reading though, I am already walking somewhere in Italy. It is the fifth day of my journey on the Via Francigena, and if everything goes according to plan, today I will walk 18 … Continue reading Pilgrim Prayers
In our wedding we asked our friends and family, witnesses to our marriage covenant, to sing The Servant Song, by Richard Gillard with us. Nick requested this song during the ceremony planning, and I fell in love with the words immediately. (Full disclosure: I did change one word below from his original: “family” was “brothers.”) … Continue reading We Are Pilgrims on a Journey
I am a planner. I love to plan. I love to make lists; I love to check things off of lists. Nick and I got engaged in August of 2016 and married in March of 2017. Six months to plan a wedding was plenty of time, especially since I wasn’t working and I was living … Continue reading On Planning & Prayer
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