From a young age, the art of storytelling has captivated me. I've loved observing how each of God's people live one life together but are walking in so many different stories. I'm thrilled to experience how the Lord will utilize my passion for storytelling and cinema together in Greece to share the stories of the marginalized and oppressed.
I was at work a couple of days ago when a co-worker and I were admiring a customer's earrings. This customer’s name was Dameca. Her earrings were these grapefruit slices that had been set in resin and handmade into beautiful earrings. When we mentioned the earrings and complimented them, Dameca began sharing the story behind them.
Dameca's earrings had come from an immigrant woman. This woman began making resin earrings as a means of earning an income after relocating to the United States, and she utilized the help of others to establish an online Etsy shop where she could showcase her…
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A cup of coffee. There is a cup that my life revolves around and fuels my overworking tendencies. A cup that signals my never-ending “go, go, go” mentality. It’s hard to get through a day without a cup of coffee, especially in the busy life of a 20-something. This cup of coffee is the foundation for all the hurry in my life. I hurry around in the morning to make it to work on time, always with a cup of coffee in hand. I get out of bed in a hurry on my days off to quickly get started on my long list of chores, errands, and meetings… never forgetting a cup of coffee. The thing about…
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What comes to mind when you first think of worship? For me, it’s music consisting of a modern contemporary style band on Thursday nights on my college campus. Or the Brandon Lake songs that seem to overtake the congregation on Sunday morning corporate worship services. Or even the times I find myself driving down the rainy Washington highways belting out the lyrics to Josiah Queen or Chris Renzema as I drive home from work. For me, my immediate association with worship is music. But worship doesn’t have to be purely music-driven. It’s much simpler than we think.
During the spring…
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As my return to Greece is approaching, I’ve recently found myself reflecting and reminiscing on the three weeks I spent in Athens in May 2023 with a team from APU. Among some of the time I’ve spent reminiscing, I’ve been reminded of one of the themes/ takeaways from this trip—
“He can turn mourning to dancing and ashes to beauty.”
This idea of the Lord having space for both mourning and dancing, ashes and beauty, was a new concept to me in 2023. I never thought it was possible to hold emotions of the opposite spectrum together in one space. It was, and still is as I remind myself now,…
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The fundraising season is a weird one to navigate. Everyone talks about it, trying to prepare us. However, I didn’t truly understand until I found myself in the thick of it. There are a series of emotions and challenges I anticipated coming up, followed by a whole other series that came straight out of left field.
This season has consisted of many things thus far– determination, hope, questioning, apprehension, discouragement… you name it. Alongside this rollercoaster of emotions, it has also consisted heavily of learning more about the character of my Father. The Lord has revealed…
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