Delivering Flowers Growing up around my family’s flower shop has taught me some important life lessons. Practically speaking, I can tell you the off-season price of a peony or how to best hydrate hydrangeas. My parents and grandparents modeled customer service through servant leadership, seeking to celebrate customers’ greatest joys and deepest sorrows. Even spiritually […]

The Paradox of Prayer Growing up in the church, one sentiment I heard a thousand times was “I’ll be praying for you.” Along with reading the Bible, praying seemed to be the Sunday School answer to what a Christian person should do. So, when I was a little girl, I made a list of all […]

The Church is the People The Church is facing an interesting and challenging circumstance today. How do we practice ministry without the gift of presence? My pastor keeps reminding us that the Church is the people—not the building! But, doing ministry without the building is proving to be a challenge. I keep coming back to […]

Back to Jesus It was an all-out fight to focus during my quiet time. Thoughts flooded my mind—worries, fears, questions, unresolved ideas, pressing tasks. I couldn’t read the words before me in my Bible. Time flew by like a rocket. I spent the time trying to wrangle my attention while counting down the minutes to […]

First Steps of Friendship On the first day of kindergarten, I decided I was going to befriend a girl in my class. I was too scared to initiate a conversation with her (social anxiety manifests itself young), so my strategy was to follow her at a distance until she noticed me and said hello. This […]