NOTE: I wrote this post about three months ago and got distracted before publishing. In more recent news, My time in Ghana is extending beyond 5 months. I’m currently back in Minnesota for a few weeks. I’m enjoying the rest and time with family. I am also excited about returning to Ghana next month. Anyone … More First Semester: Success!

I started 2016 still living in Japan. I had made the decision to move back home to Minnesota for an indefinite time period. I knew I couldn’t put a timeframe on getting healthy. It could be months. It could be years. I came back to Minnesota and began putting my life back together. On my … More Changes Ahead

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in … More Day Thirty One: Receive Love

As I look back over the last several months and years, I have received grace, upon grace, upon grace. It has felt more like a blind stumble through the dark. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know how to make wise choices. I was doing the best I was able, but I … More Day Thirty: Receive Grace

Reconcile – (verb) 1. To restore friendly relations between 2. To cause to coexist in harmony; to make or show to be compatible 3. To make one account consistent with another.  (Miriam Webster Dictionary) One of the hardest parts about these last several months has been trying to reconcile the memories and emotional responses of … More Day Twenty Nine: Receive Reconciliation

The Lord builds up Jerusalem he gathers the outcasts of Israel He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The LORD lifts up the humble,  he … More Day Twenty Eight: Receive Wholeness

Back on day three I talked a little bit about goodness and Psalm 23. David ends that Psalm saying “surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” I had hope that goodness would follow me. Over the last several months, here are the ways I have seen goodness follow me. … More Day Twenty Seven: Receive Goodness

I got to spend the day with a pretty adorable toddler today. I started to think about how many different things were exciting to her. Puppies. Crayons and coloring. Blocks. Play dough. Music. Cheese. Books. Puddles. Kittens. Rocks. Worms. Applesauce. She could not stop laughing at the falling leaves. The wind would blow. The leaves … More Day Twenty Six: Receive Wonder

Looking back, I most likely spent several months fighting depression. I never made it to a doctor or anyone who could give me an official diagnosis. By the time I did get myself to those appointments, depression didn’t have that strong pull on me. I wasn’t happy. I couldn’t force myself to be happy. (I … More Day Twenty Five: Receive Happiness

I reached a point where for several months I believed I was going crazy. I still have a picture in my head from that. I was holding on to the end of a rope. That was the only thing connecting me to reality. It was as if I was mentally stepping into a blizzard. I … More Day Twenty Four: Receive Confidence