When I was growing up, I learned a little song that I sang in a children’s play at church: Practice makes perfect Practice makes perfect The more that I practice, the better I’ll be Over twenty-five years later, I still hear the song in my head on a regular basis. My counselor called me “performance [...]

“Gutsy chick.” Or so my uncle calls me. I rarely feel like I live up to the name. My uncle doesn’t know how many days I face with my knees knocking together. I don’t usually look in the mirror and see a “gutsy chick.” I often see the agoraphobic woman who struggles to leave the [...]

When I was twenty, I thought I could change the world by the strength of my will and the power of my love. Newly single and working at my large church in the city, I had a lot of time and energy. I was assigned to help a family who lived in a very rough [...]

Last weekend, as I watched the nightly news with my Dad, I saw something that made my blood boil. In response to the release of the new Nike athletic shoes, shoppers in Florida and some other places had begun rioting. It infuriated me and I posted the following update to my Facebook status: “It’s REALLY [...]

As always, this is Wednesday, and so my friend and co-facilitator, Jason Stasyszen and I – and several of our friends – are having a book discussion on the book Kisses from Katie. You don’t have to read the book to join in the discussion! But if you did read and have a response post, [...]

I just had my thirty-fourth birthday. Now, some people, for their birthdays, throw parties or go out to their favorite restaurant, but last year, I instituted a new tradition of spending my birthday with a group of my good friends in the Pacific Northwest. In my opinion, there’s just no better way to spend your [...]

When I was in my early twenties, I worked in a daycare center. It was one of the most stressful jobs I ever had. As much as the State of North Carolina says that one adult can care for five infants or six one-year-olds or 10 two-year-olds, single-handedly, it is surely a challenge of epic [...]

Saturday night, I was at about the last place in the world I wanted to be. This aged spinster had gotten roped into attending a Valentine Banquet at my parents’ church. And while that might seem like a pretty fun thing, the last time I went, I ended up doing a really horrible waltz with [...]

It had been a grueling week in Kinshasa. Heat pressed down on each of us, taking our breaths away and causing sweat to drip off the end of my nose and onto the pill counting tray in front of me. The prescriptions stacked up next to me and there was no way that I could [...]

I’m single. In fact, I’m becoming more and more convinced that my particular case is terminal. The evidence weighs it out. I haven’t been in a serious relationship in over ten years and haven’t had a date in right around five years. Yeah. Poke me with a fork, people. I’d say I’m pretty much done. [...]