Nature vs. Nurture- Renewing the Mind
I believe in asking the question, “Who am I?” It is a good question to ask and information from personality inventories can spur on conversations about our inner selves. They can also help with interpersonal relationships as we try to understand each other and extend grace, helping to facilitate healthy team dynamics while we live […]
Not Disqualified
I have always been quiet and reserved, preferring a small group of close friends or a good book in a coffee shop. I HATED being called on to answer in class because I process information internally, and that can take awhile. I am happy to be the listener rather than the talker, particularly in large […]
When We Embrace Our Differences
“Life simply has a way of breaking us down to the point where we feel our uniqueness is a curse to the world instead of a blessing.” – Matthew Barnett When I was a little, I was nothing like the other kids around me. I was noticeably different, and being different was weird. Often other […]
On the Road to Self-Discovery
Outside my front door sits a snake plant. Beside the snake plant rest my Birkenstocks. And this bothers me. I am not bothered because I don’t like snake plants or Birkenstocks. I actually think snake plants are super cool, and I often say my Birks were the best investment I made before moving overseas. No, […]
The Enneagram and Me
The room was dark when I scooped up the scattered shoes and sprinkled them into the shoe-bench by the backdoor. The host of the podcast I was listening to asked the guest what her enneagram number is. With the precise measure of self-deprecation that charms, she answered that she is a Three. There it is […]
No to Cheese Pizza, But Yes to Green Pastures
“We don’t have cheese pizza.” I was standing in the very first pizza shop to open in our city in northeastern China. We had yearned for this day for months. Forget Santa — PIZZA was coming to town! The menu had 3 options: pepperoni, Hawaiian, or supreme. And ridiculous me: I tried to order plain […]
The Hesitation Inside Us
I sat in the bleachers, watching my six-year-old daughter begin her gymnastics class. The instructor called out some moves that she wanted the girls to accomplish, and then the first girl in line started the process of steps. I watched as my daughter, only third in line, reached her hands up behind her neck and […]
Relentless
God’s personality has been presenting itself to me through nature lately. Blessed by a trip to the beach with my family, I sat on the sand, surrounded by the big sky, salty wind blowing through my tangled, yet sun-kissed hair. My attention tuned in to the waves and how they keep coming, one after another, […]