Living an inconspicuous life while also living fully known to God.
When was the last time you put away your phone, found some solitude, and sat down for twenty minutes of uninterrupted silence and stillness? Maybe you’ve had the best of intentions to start a spiritual practice that looks like this, and you just haven’t been able to lock it in. As summer comes to a Read More
“Pray for me,” I said. “I lack conviction for our work right now.” And I’m not sure how much longer I can keep doing this, I thought to myself. I was tired. Tired of pep talks. Tired of traumatizing my friends and family with stories from ministry. Tired of the work ahead of me as much as I was Read More
Have you ever been in a conversation and found yourself talking about the ministry or church where you lead and inadvertently turned the corner of “Too Much Information” and found yourself talking (and by talking, I mean venting) about the challenges (and by challenges, I mean problems) of ministry? Read More
At the 2022 ICAP Global conference, I led a forum conversation on Belonging, our conference theme based on Ephesians 2:19-22. At the end of this forum, I invited attendees to use their imaginations to enter into these verses and imagine they are stones being built into God's temple. Many asked Read More
Contemplative photography is the practice of using a camera to slow down and notice the world around you. Some teachers use language like “seeing the world with fresh eyes,” “connecting with the visual richness of our ordinary daily experiences,” and “relearning how to see.” For me, contemplative Read More
This post is the second in a series about contemplative photography as a practice of Christian obscurity. I broke up with photography in 2005, and now I pick up the rest of the story. In 2019, contemplative photography found me and said, “Hey, ma’am. Remember your old friend photography? Read More
This post is the first in a series about contemplative photography as a practice of Christian obscurity. But before we get into the practice, let me tell you my photography story. In 2005, I broke up with photography. My love for being behind a camera, composing images, developing Read More
Our Scottish terrier Zelda loves her daily walks, but the heat of Missouri summer days prevents us from going out before twilight. Once the sun starts its evening decent and the heat of the day starts to dissipate (though the humidity does not), we head out the door and wind our way through our Read More
My Scottish terrier Zelda is an enthusiastic walker. She reminds me every day—especially on particularly good weather days—when it’s time for our walk. She reminds me where I keep my shoes and socks. And she reminds me where we keep her leash. To be clear, I am not that forgetful; she just likes Read More
Confession: I’m not the best at identifying my emotions. Turns out that most people don’t consider hungry or tired as actual human emotions even though those are often my answers to the question, “How are you feeling?” So in an effort to grow in identifying and experiencing my emotions, I once Read More
