"Consider the Ravens..."

When I lived in Manila, I had a couple coworkers from commonwealth countries who would occasionally use the phrase "slogging on." It usually provoked a smile out of those listening because the word is not commonly used outside of commonwealth dialects like British or Aussie English. When asked for a definition, the reply is something along the lines of "pushing through even though it's really messy and imperfect and probably uncomfortable or frustrating." Synonyms might include trudging, plodding, walking heavily, or laboring.  We're halfway through 2020 and I can't think of a more appropriate word for how we're handing it: slogging. Absolutely slogging through 2020 -- every last one of us! Everyone on the planet has entered a reality we could hardly fathom just 6 months ago. There are no easy answers, but everyone seems to have an opinion. The stakes are high on many fronts and in a few areas like public education, there simply doesn't seem to b

I've attended two funerals in the last two weeks. Not exactly happy days, but part of the life cycle nonetheless. One part of my extended family is all buried in the same cemetery and so, per usual, with every visit for another funeral, we've made a habit of tracing our steps past the other markers of our family's remains. I'm not usually alone at funerals for family members, but I was on this particular occasion, so I did my best to find the plots all over the place. On my journey, I began to notice something. All the headstones had names, a few had numbers that corresponded with names, but a majority also had a title. What titles did I see? Mom Dad Loving mother Beloved father and grandfather Papa Mama Sister Brother Mother Father Mr. and Mrs. (His name) (Family name) Loving husband Faithful wife Over and over, the titles of mom or dad came up. Sometimes grandma or grandpa, sometimes husband or wife, but all were family titles or nicknames. And it go

Today marks six years since I stepped off a plane and traded the title of ex-patriot missionary for all things American. In the last six years, so much growth and change has happened. I am genuinely so much happier and healthier and sure of who I am and who God is in my life. But the journey hasn't been an easy one. Over the course of the last six years, I've had more than a dozen jobs. Each of them had a purpose and while many of them were stressful in negative ways, I can say with confidence now, each of them was a necessary step. It's fair to say that for a few years, I was drifting in my career... but I struggled with whether I actually cared  if that was true. #millennial I've come to realize that the idea of a career of 30+ years in one place or one role is beyond rare, if not becoming somewhat extinct. The corporate norm is to climb ever-upward, which inherently creates instability over the long haul in favor of greater personal gain with the expected sacrifi