My sister doesn't like Hallmark movies. They're predictable and she says if you've seen one, you've seen them all. I don't mind. In fact, I look forward to going home for the holidays to indulge in some very predictable entertainment. That being said, I do enjoy the unexpected plot twist. Life is full of them … Continue reading From blog to book chapters
The other day I came across a picture of a property-front window in Minneapolis boarded up with “Do Not Burn Immigration Lawyers” spray painted on the front. As the city burned, the community had sought to protect a place it knew had its best interest at heart. To them, this was sacred ground, a place … Continue reading The Fast God Has Chosen: Isaiah 58
A couple weeks ago, I wrote my final paper for my Prophets class on Isaiah 58, true fasting. Never has a paper or passage so deeply convicted me. After submitting it, I sat with my roommate over dinner and gave her the Reader's Digest pop version with tears in my eyes, feeling very sympathetic to Isaiah's deep … Continue reading How to Return to Church
The black community lost another one of its own recently. In responding to the outcry of support that the victim received on social media, I suggested that there were a number of ways concerned white people could be involved outside of social media campaigns that would be quickly forgotten. Rather than answer the specific question … Continue reading 51 questions to get you started
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the prophets lately. Partially because that is the class I’m taking in seminary this semester and partially because one of my writing projects called for a deep dive in those books. As the world feels like it melts around me, I’ve found the prophets a comfort. Yes, … Continue reading Perfect Peace
“Like Jesus, and like the apostles, our asking is related to our assurance of God’s fathering. The object of all asking and the consequent source of all answering is the Father.” Stuart McAlpine Just Asking: Restoring the Soul of Prayer I never used to give much thought to how I opened my prayers. God, … Continue reading Our Father
In middle school, I would often get the most perplexing response to asking a classmate for gum: “It’s my last piece.” “But” I thought, “it wasn’t your only piece. And someone has to eat it.” Besides, they had the second to last piece in their mouth as we spoke. Why be a scrooge with the … Continue reading Under the Influence of Mercy: How the Gospel Makes Us Generous
The three years immediately after I returned to the US from living in China are both hard to speak about and about which I have most to say. They have been some of the most significant in my journey with the Lord so far. I moved to Boston at the height of the global financial … Continue reading When Winter Tarries
I am a 35 year old African-American woman. I had my first—and last—kiss (or kisses, depending on how you count) five days after turning 34 and had my only boyfriend in the summer and fall of 2004. I am a few months into recovery from heartbreak by being unseen when I’d at least hoped to be considered … Continue reading Single Ladies Catechism
Yesterday I got coffee with a friend and she asked me how classes were going. I told her that my covenant theology class has changed the way I pray. When she asked how, an analogy came to mind. You enter a store teeming with nothing but precious valuables. You take a stroll around trying to … Continue reading No More Window Shopping: A Covenant Perk
