This past week was my first at Park Springs for the summer. I love working at camp, I always have. But this summer is slightly different than the others. My position is different. And this is my first summer as a college graduate. My life has entered into a transitional period, and somehow, in the …
The last few weeks (month, really) have flown by. They were incredibly demanding and very busy. I had a choir tour. An exit interview to take. Research papers to submit. Finals to study for (and take) A commencement speech to write. A dorm room to pack up. An apartment to move things into. A baccalaureate …
Continue reading "To be, or not to be, or to be both, or to be none at all."
As I’m sitting here trying to find the words for this blog, I’m smiling and chuckling to myself. The title is definitely a collaborative effort of some of my friends a couple weeks ago. It has become customary to make jokes when we all hang out as to whether I’m going to blog about the experience …
Continue reading "Friendships, party games, and something about water."
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection. With a lot of major life changes happening and coming up in the next few months, I’ve been deliberately and desperately searching within myself and in Christ to figure out who I am, and who I want to be - and where (and if) those two align. …
“Why are you such a stubborn pain?” “Could you be any more stubborn?” “Jess. You’re being stubborn.” “Come on, stop being so stubborn!” Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn! I am constantly being called out for being stubborn. Even how I got the picture for this post is tied into my stubbornness. It went something like this: "Let …
Have you ever taken the time to be thankful to be alive? And I don’t just mean a passing thought either. I mean take the time to really be thankful. Have you ever stopped to just praise God for the life He’s given you? Have you stopped to thank and praise Him regardless of the …
Continue reading "Thankful for Springtime, Thankful for Life."
Healing. It seems like we always want to be better off. To be healthy. To be joyful. To have clarity. To have things easier. To feel whole. To have consistency. To be healed. So why do we consistently make choices and behave in ways that result in the opposite? This isn't about what's out of …
My friend and I were walking. I was beyond exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally. I had a to do list that could have used a to do list. My mind was distracted from the conversation my friend was trying to have with me. Another step. After slow step. After slower step. Every few minutes my phone …
Numbers. Back when I was back and forth about putting my words from notebooks or files on my computer into a blog, I made myself a promise: numbers wouldn’t matter. Ever. The stats page was a mere acquaintance, not a friend. I promised to myself that as long as I was did the following, I …
Continue reading "Numbers, Choices, and Other Difficult Things…"
Once again, I find myself sitting in Starbucks. On my drive through Eastern Kentucky into town, I figured this trip would be no different than the others. Today has been a mundane day. Nothing awful, but also nothing extraordinary. I grabbed my backpack. Macbook, journal, headphones - my usual. I took the same route as …
Continue reading "Close. Comfort. And Something Like Courage."
