love
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Who Am I To Question My Captain’s Orders?

Envy reared its ugly head yesterday. Just last week, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment, an overdue realization that I want for nothing. I could write an obnoxiously verbose post where I list things I am grateful for, but as that would likely make very dull reading for the rest of you, I’ll keep Continue reading
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Love is a Garage Door Opener

When we were dating, I would typically get off work earlier than my now-husband, Billy. My favorite running trail went past the church where he worked, so I’d park behind the church and chase that daily tread. I ran with particular enthusiasm during that season because I knew that if I “happened to mention” that Continue reading
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Christmas Letter – 2023

I am terrible at keeping track of people’s addresses, and this is the worst time of year for me to add another to-do, so consider this post my digital Christmas letter. Do you like the photo I chose? Billy and I have had another lovely year of long runs, strong coffee, good books, and more Continue reading
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Leaning toward Grace

Too often, I’ve heard professing Christians say, “I just lean more grace than truth.” This statement is used to simultaneously claim Christ while committing the sins that crucified him. Such statements ignore the nature of grace, which does not leave us to stew in sin but saves us from sin. Grace is not separate from Continue reading
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A Couplet for Couples

The sweetest submission I now know is this: To bow before his gentle forehead kiss. “Wives, submit to your husbands, as to the Lord…Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor…” Ephesians Continue reading
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Golf: In Memoriam

Whenever I tell someone that I studied in St. Andrew’s, they immediately ask whether I golfed while there. (If the person in question is a man, he will generally make vague golf motions and look at me quizzically.) Sadly, I have to explain that I did not take up golf until this summer—two months after Continue reading
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The Word Kept: a reflection on John 1:1

“IN PRINCIPIO ERAT VERBUM” The Latin for “in the beginning was the Word” is inscribed on the gates of my college at St. Andrew’s. Each day, I was reminded as I walked beneath them why I was studying, why I am a writer, and why I was in that particular place. After all, what is Continue reading
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Two Poems for St. Andrew’s

When I moved to St. Andrew’s, Scotland to pursue my master’s degree, I was convinced that I would love that little town of stone and sea with my whole being. I was sure that falling in love with its historic ruins, its adorable streets, and its rain-purified air would be simple. Yet I found myself Continue reading
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Schumann’s Arabeske: A Musical Love Letter

It is my conviction that one must fall in love to play Schumann well. I did not at first enjoy practicing his Arabeske, Op. 18; while I understood the piece theoretically, I did not truly understand it emotionally or spiritually until I, like the composer, fell in love. Then, all at once, its nuances and Continue reading
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“Lovely”

A poem inspired by Martin Luther and his thoughts on God’s “creating love.” Continue reading
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Affirming Ourselves to Death
Selfishness is nothing new, but it has grown to such enormous proportions that this generation is actually known as the “Entitlement Generation.” The saddest part is that we, the members of this generation, have been deceived into believing that there is nothing wrong with this and even seem to have redefined morality as personal happiness. From birth, we have been spoon-fed on praise, Continue reading
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