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Catalyzing Self-Aware Leaders
Latest from the Blog
Can God help with math homework? Asking for wisdom in every-day life.
I once took a peak into my dad’s prayer journal. He had written the question, “God, how do I help Kelly with her math homework today?” I chuckled to think that I was perhaps so bad at math that my dad had to go to God for help. But as I flipped through the pagesContinue reading “Can God help with math homework? Asking for wisdom in every-day life.”
Too tired for daily devotions?
I woke up the other day with two papers due, ten text messages that deserved thorough and urgent responses, three meetings to plan, and an achy neck that desperately needed physical therapy. I knew what I had to do. I walked to the park, put on some worship music, opened my Bible, and prayed. ItContinue reading “Too tired for daily devotions?”
Will this be forever? Reflections on Covid, chronic pain and the eternal loyalty of God
Pain in itself not hard to bear, but hard to bear so long. Frederick William Faber, The Thought of God, 1814- 1863 There are times that I forget that I have a chronic pain disorder. I feel healthy, strong, and unstoppable. But then out of nowhere a flare of pain comes to remind me thatContinue reading “Will this be forever? Reflections on Covid, chronic pain and the eternal loyalty of God”
What songs take you to heaven?
It is healthy to let our imaginations turn to eternity. Jon Ball, the regional coordinator for theological formation in InterVarsity, regularly asks us this question, “What are you looking forward to in the new creation?” This is not a question intended to make us ignore our present circumstances, but a question to help us stayContinue reading “What songs take you to heaven?”
The 3 best leadership gifts my dad gave me before he died
It’s graduation season. I love seeing the celebratory photos of kindergarten and college diplomas. I love telling students they are upperclassmen now and are being entrusted with greater leadership in the ministry. Father’s Day got me thinking about one of my biggest transitions in leadership. Unbeknownst to any of us, during my first year ofContinue reading “The 3 best leadership gifts my dad gave me before he died”
How to keep hoping when you aren’t getting what you want
“We let our expectations die and embrace expectancy.” James Choung and Ryan Pfeiffer, Longing for Revival: From Holy Discontent to Breakthrough Faith (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020), 52. 3 years, 75 hours at a fertility clinic, $4000 of copays, 3 surgeries and 9 procedures later, and still no baby to show for it all.Continue reading “How to keep hoping when you aren’t getting what you want”
Having social anxiety after isolation?
The day finally arrived: two weeks after vaccination! I envisioned fireworks, chocolate fountains, a giant party . . . instead I celebrated my end of isolation with a quiet walk through Hobby Lobby. With so much of the world still in crisis, and half of my community unvaccinated, it wasn’t the climactic ending to aContinue reading “Having social anxiety after isolation?”
Loving Yourself through Affectionate Presence
When my seventeen-month-old nephew, Zachary, is having trouble sleeping at night, my brother pats him on his back gently and says, “I know, I know.” The other day, Zachary was awake and alone in his crib saying to himself, “I know, I know.” From a very young age, kids learn how to soothe themselves. TheyContinue reading “Loving Yourself through Affectionate Presence”
The Gift of Presence
“I have no profound pastoral words, but I have fish tacos,” I said to a few friends as we gathered in a park to be together after receiving some distressing news. I have found myself, as one who keeps a pen and paper on me at all times, often wordless these days. So much death,Continue reading “The Gift of Presence”
Kelly Aalseth 