It was the fall of 2001. I was a freshman in college (Do they even say that anymore?), and fresh off the devastation of a last minute change to head to community college instead of the private Christian university as planned. Any other local friends had opted to go to the nearby unaccredited Bible college, so driving to a place where my faith would be questioned was an additional blow to my enthusiasm. Why couldn't I be in the "warm embrace" of Bible classes too? Little did

I'm a "geriatric millennial," which is a sad way to indicate that I grew up in both an analogue and digital world. While we obviously had calculators, the internet was still relatively new and not everyone had access to it at home, which meant that the only way to look up answers to your algebra homework was to either copy off of someone . . . or look at the answers in the back of the book. Now, looking up answers didn't actually help you with doing the actual work that your

You finally find a parking spot on the cramped, brick building lined street--extra points for a spot in the shade, and not too far of a stroll to the front doors of a local mom and pop coffee shop. As your eyes adjust for the low light, you notice the hum of conversation blended with the melody of some eclectic jazz melody that almost seems familiar. Scanning the room, you see me waving over to you near a sunny window. The coziest seat has been saved for you, and as you walk

Never underestimate the motivational power of a cup of coffee. For the past few years, I have tried to use the summers to instill some Biblical habits in my kids. During the school year, most of my devotion time is done before they wake up or before bed, so it's the only time of year where they actually see me with an open Bible and a cup of coffee quietly by myself. Step 1: The Plot So far, I've had limited success. They seem interested, cuddle up next to me in bed,

Ballpark Mom life 101: I watched the free weeknights and Saturdays disappear into the commitment of practices and game schedules, and told all of my friends and acquaintances, "I can do anything for 8-weeks," as I enthusiastically worked my way through this new season. And if my hiatus is any indication, we more than doubled our season between the two kids and subsequent playoffs . . . and I wouldn't have it any other way. Season Recap Its only fair for me to report in

Weekends. Coffee. & Baseball. That is the text on one of my favorites from my collection of ironic "mom uniform" sweatshirts and t-shirts (and yes, I just saw how horrible the punctuation is on this one, ha ha). Pulling this out of my closet signifies the start of another season of life for my little family: SPORTS! Yes, we do play soccer in the fall with the little church league which is mostly just for fun, but when we step into the baseball and softball seasons, we play "

If you are like me, you want to stay informed with what is going on in the world. In fact, I feel like this daily news ritual is actually something that has caused a lot of confusion in our younger (and my, let's be honest) generation because a once blissfully ignorant group, who did not grow up hearing the news, has now been flooded with information because the internet in their hands (literally). A Desire to Unplug I relate to all of the memes about wanting to unplug, run

I have degrees--three, in fact, at various levels of academia--and a teaching certificate to boot. I'll unfortunately be paying student loans for a long time (we are good friends by now). Although I had learned so much about the mechanics of youth ministry from reading various books and being a part of a company-sponsored online community, I still pursued my degree. What I quickly learned is that I actually already knew how to set up and run a youth ministry--before I even

Sitting in a stack of books on my nightstand is R.C. Sproul’s, Everyone is a Theologian. I have a few more titles to get through before I hit R.C., but I have been in love with the concept ever since I noticed the title: EVERYONE is a Theologian. Not just those who are extra smart. Not just those with fancy degrees or years of experience. Everyone. (That means you too). But why is that so? With the understanding that theology is just “the study of God” and that all Christian