When we read people’s Facebook pages, see people on TV, and walk down the street…doesn’t it seem like everyone is ridiculously happy all the time? I’m slowly coming to realize that not every moment of every day can be filled with the pure joy and doing exactly what we want to do. Read More...

When I reflected on what I celebrated this week it revolved around the fact that I’m in love with this city. I’m in love with Kansas City, what isn’t there to love about it? This week I got to see some beautiful art when I went to a play with a dear Read More...

  This past month I’ve been focusing on taking time for Sabbath rest for myself.  The other day I was sitting in a coffee shop reading scripture and someone asked what I was doing.  I told them that I was taking some Sabbath time.  This person knows what I do for a Read More...

This month I am focusing on Sabbath as my spiritual discipline. Doing your taxes doesn’t sound like Sabbath, but I did everything I could to avoid having to do this very scary task. Numbers have always scared me. My best friend works at the coffee shop that I frequent, and when he Read More...

This week in my Sabbath-keeping I decided that I was going to maintain reading in a coffee shop. One of the reasons that I like reading in a coffee shop so much is the community that naturally begins to form as you sit and enjoy coffee. There are baristas with interesting stories, Read More...

This month I am focusing on taking some Sabbath rest for myself as a spiritual discipline. To me taking Sabbath rest doesn’t have to be a full day, but it does need to be time taken in the week to rest with Spirit. Sabbath is about taking time to feed your spirit. Read More...

This past weekend my parents were in town to see me sing in the Heartland Men’s Chorus.   They got to come with me to worship as well.  During worship one of the prayers talked about the things around us that helped us see the sacred, and I’m pretty sure that my family Read More...

I text messaged my sister and asked her how she was doing.   Her response was “Raising three kids, working full time, and trying to take 14 credit hours of college classes.”  I responded with “You are too busy…I love you.”  She responded, “I always have time to love you.”  This message reminded Read More...

This month my discipline has been engaging in worship more fully. At Country Club Christian Church this past week we reflected on many things, one of them being how a heart broken may be a heart open enough to give and receive love. My favorite poet, Mary Oliver, wrote “Whoever you are, Read More...

“Justy!”  All it took when I was a kid was my mother referring to me as “Justy” with a look of disappointment and I was in a puddle of tears and begging for forgiveness.  I’ve never handled failing people, tasks, or anything very well. I think that is why I’m quite awful Read More...

Babies have it made. They scream and throw tantrums whenever they want and someone just rocks them to sleep or feeds them. When they are done screaming they are so peaceful. Their expression of emotion knows no boundaries. To survive they are supposed to express themselves dramatically, like a psalmist. During the Read More...

I don’t know if you have ever seen the sweaty and crabby version of me, but it isn’t pretty.  I began working out with my best friend and a personal trainer this week. The entire workout I was thinking “This guy is nuts…when can I eat a cookie?”  I began to think Read More...

This month I’m trying to read a Psalm everyday and reflect on it.  I’ll be honest, it’s hard for me to sit down and read scripture if I’m not doing it for work.  Reading the bible on a daily basis isn’t the first thing on my mind.  I have a lot of Read More...

This week praying has not only brought me to a more attentive view of my food, but to those with whom I ate.  I had “one of those days” where no matter what I said or did I was wrong.  At the end of the day a friend texted me a list Read More...

I’m a person who doesn’t cook a lot (if ever), and I frequently tend to go to restaurants. This week I reflected on how my prayer life affects the way I treat those who are serving  my food.  My friends who work in the food service industry all have horror stories like Read More...