Corned beef, black eyed peas, and cabbage

Corned beef, black eyed peas, and cabbage. A New Years meal for good luck and financial gain. A meal I enjoyed under the warm hospitality of acquaintances turned into friends, friends into heart warming friends. This transformation was a year and a half old. This transformation was a good way to commemorate the first day …

A beautiful struggle

January 1, 2017. There is something so surreal about it being the first day of a new year.  I am thankful. Thankful I got to see another year end and one begin. Like most people at this time of the year, I reflect on the happenings of the last year and my hopes for the …

Beauty infused in ordinary moments

I had three stops to make before I got home. My secret to sometimes enjoying errands is headphones and a fabulous playlist! I had my work out music on  and every so often, when I was sure no one was paying attention, I sneaked in a quick dance move as I went from one store to …

1000 Gifts Challenge

One of the most impactful books I read in 2016 was One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. In it, the author documented her journey through intentional thankfulness and how it changed her life. Having engaged in a similar practice every day for a little over a year now, her words resonated with me (see Choosing …

Christmas cookies and happy socks

I was winding up my work day by mentally bargaining with the unknown to fit my errands into the time I had left in the day to do them. The plans were not fully formed in my head, but they included finding stocking stuffers and making a dish for the Christmas potluck. I drove through …

Misguided Wonder

I made it to work on time! This was one of the first blessings of my day, since I had left home later than I should have. My day usually starts right as I walk into the clinic, but today it was different. I did not have a patient scheduled for an 8 am appointment …

Cinnamon rolls and a broken oven

It was a short night! I had woken up at the crack of dawn to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. I love being in the kitchen so despite my sleepy eyes I was happy to be doing this. I measured everything carefully and started my bread maker. It would make the dough for about 2 …

Finding life at 27

One of the overarching themes of my 27th year was leaning into God in surrender.  “Let me hear joy and gladness and let bones you have crushed rejoice.” (Psalm 51:8) These words captivated my heart in their conflicting desire. Yes, that is exactly where I was at the beginning of my 27th year.  I could …

Perfect Strength in Weakness

  I have been dragging my body through the last couple of weeks.  It is always so humbling to see how my entire being bows low when my immune system does not hold down the fort like it should. I have had to think about everything, from the simple act of getting out of bed, …

Becoming Sunshine

As I sat across this woman, I had no idea that seeing her would become the highlight of my days.  I started the session the way I usually do, "welcome to physical therapy this is what you can expect..." We worked through her evaluation. Her answering my questions, me tugging on the body part that …