Mermaid Tales

“I hate feelings. I wish I was a bagel.” When my friend posted that Facebook status, I laughed - as perhaps some of you did. But then I cringed. I cringed because it resonated with me deeply. I had been there. I had been there… consumed with infatuation . My thoughts had run circles around boys I Iiked, overthinking every word carelessly tossed in my direction. My heart had bounced to my throat with every glance, plummeted to my stomach with every doubt, and galloped ten times faster with every thought of a crush. I hated my feelings.  I had been there… devastated by rejection . I had poured out my feelings, like perfume on the concrete at someone’s feet. I had heard the all-too-familiar, “I don’t see you like that…” time after time. I had watched a crush gaze at another girl like she caused the sun to shine.  I hated my feelings.  But recently, one line in a Timothy Keller sermon hit me like a train, “Our feelings are a reflection of God’s feelings.” God experiences emotion, and

Sleep is practically my spiritual gift. I can sleep anywhere, anytime, and I love it. One of my favorite mottos is, “Jesus took naps. Be like Jesus.” But I’ve also been there, unable to sleep, flipping over and over with my body and my brain. In the dead of night, I’ve sobbed over romantic rejection. In the dead of night, I’ve cursed in deep disappointment. In the dead of night, I’ve ached for lost friendship.    Right now, our world feels like the dead of night. In a sense, the world halted. All is still. All is quiet. People are home. In another sense, thoughts and emotions rage - unable to be stilled. The news, social media, and meme pages explode with updates. We are tangled between our fear and boredom, trapped in our questions and panic.  With the constant conversation, we all feel sick of talking about the virus. I am almost annoyed with myself for adding to the conversation, and I am tempted to believe I have nothing valuable to add. But I just can't st

The great thing about being single is that literally everyone has been there. Since I consider myself a resident expert at this point, I thought I would share some memes to make you all smile and remind you that you may be single, but you are not alone! (#Iknowthatwascheesy)  I should really wait until something actually significant happens before I start telling people. Ah yes. It's cute how I try to find hope! Probably emotionally traumatic, but cute. Because if I'm trying to find hope in specks of dust, this will most likely happen. Should've seen that coming! So now the only thing left to do is get over it. Easier said than done! It's not like great people aren't out there. They are just all taken. Yep, those flowers are definitely not for me. Celebrate with those who celebrate and rejoice with those who rejoice?  After continually going through this disappointment, it starts to feel a little like this. And then you re

To be honest, I didn’t even plan to go into youth ministry. When I was a senior in high school, I started volunteering with the middle school group just because my friends were doing it. I soon found myself hosting sixth grade sleepovers, making comments like, “Consider me as your big sister then!”, and even stepping down from Speech and Debate, one of my favorite activities, because it conflicted with youth group. I was hooked. For the next five years, I did everything I possibly could to prepare myself to be an excellent youth minister. As I step into the next season of my life as the Assistant Youth and Preteen Director at Community of Hope Church (say that ten times fast!), I thought I would share with you all how serving in youth ministry could rock your world like it rocked mine. 1) You’ll eat far more pizza than you ever wanted to .Yes -- cheap, easy, and delicious. This is the manna of youth ministry. But don’t worry, you’ll burn off the calories in a g

Although I adore children and am basically five at heart, I never really thought I’d go into children’s ministry. I had a laser focus on youth ministry -- it was all I thought about at night and all I ever wanted to do. More than anything else, I knew I was called to youth ministry. But this past year, thanks to the Holy Spirit, Beth Locke, and Jessica Stafford, I took a “detour” from my full-steam- ahead youth ministry track.** Best detour I ever took . I stepped into the world of kids’ ministry, and although I am now transitioning into a more youth-oriented role, I know I will never be able to step out of this rushing river. Kids’ ministry has captured my heart and changed my life. As I’m reflecting on my own experience, I thought I would share with you how stepping into kids’ ministry could change YOUR life (and why you totally need to do it!):   1) You’ll have fun filled memories : Squishing play dough, running around the church on a scavenger hunt, dri

I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but I tend to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. Just kidding, I don’t think anyone was shocked by that “revelation”. But recently I have been reflecting on this part of myself. I would not call it a flaw. I believe that looking for the redeeming qualities in people and situations flows from the heart of God. I believe a voice of hope is desperately needed in a world of cynicism and schisms, despair and detestation. Someone has to search for the silver lining, right? Someone has to keep pushing us forward, believing that our lives have meaning, we are not broken beyond repair, and God’s good purposes will ultimately prevail. That said, rose-colored glasses get me in trouble. Especially when those rose-colored glasses are looking at tall, dark, and handsome men (or other adjectives but you get the point) that I might have half a chance at dating. They get me in trouble in two ways: 1) I find hope where there is none, 2) I