As many of you know, there is a movie out called “The Black Nativity.” This post has absolutely nothing to do with it except for the fact that somewhere in my midnight stream of consciousness, these two phrases connected. One birthed the other, and in the light of day, I’m not sure which came first in my head. Anyway, the same stream of consciousness led me to pull out my phone so I could “jot” down a few thoughts for blogging later. Instead of a couple of words and phrases, I pretty much typed out an entire blog post. I Read More
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Breast Cancer Awareness Isn’t Just for October
I saw a story about a Good Morning America reporter who got her first mammogram because her producer suggested taping it for the show. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and is preparing to have a double mastectomy. What a reminder of the importance of taking our health screenings seriously! Because of that story, I decided to repost my own story, as I wrote it in two separate Facebook “notes.” “My First Mammogram…A Public Service Announcement my way…” (originally posted October 17, 2008) Okay, so technically I’m not old enough to need a mammogram, but 1.) You’re supposed to start Read More
Have You Thanked a Spleen, Lately?
While reading Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 12, I found myself distracted by a blog post begging to be written. So here it is. As Christians, we’re all (or should be) familiar with this passage in which Paul discusses how every person who makes up the body of Christ is equally important. He uses physical body parts to make his point, and this got me to thinking. While we in Christendom may have developed a better understanding of the concept of appreciating the parts that make up the whole, I think that we have a long way to go when Read More
Study Break
Sometimes, my deepest thoughts come in the middle of studying something unrelated. If I don’t pause to think through them (or write them down), they’ll just distract me from the task at hand. And I’m in the middle of studying and want to get back to that task. So here we go. A year or so ago, after telling me I had 20/20 vision, the ophthalmologist told me that I would need to start wearing reading glasses when I turned 40. (He was actually surprised I wasn’t wearing them already.) I nodded like a good little patient but kind of Read More
I’m supposed to be doing homework. . .
So, I guess I’m taking a brief study break. Yeh, that’s what we’ll call it. If you’re fairly familiar with my blog, you know that my posts may be deep, intentional, random, silly, etc. This probably falls somewhere in the category of random . . . and rambling. Yesterday, we took a short family trip so my mom had a rare opportunity to visit with her siblings, specifically my aunt whose life has been significantly impacted by multiple sclerosis. My hope for the day was that I would make it back to campus by 8 or 9 p.m., so I Read More
The Funny(?) Truth…
Thanks to the internet, Charles Ramsey is quickly becoming a well-known name in the USA. Ramsey-related memes are all over the internet, and everyone is talking about his colorful commentary regarding the events surrounding the rescue of the three young women in Ohio. The thing I liked about his television interviews was that he could easily be right at home at my family reunion. If there was a “Keepin’ It Real” Award, I would nominate Ramsey. (And being a Chicagoan, I would vote early . . . and often.) HOWEVER . . . At one point in his interview with Read More
Happy(?) Anniversary…
I’m typing this post around 10:35 p.m. (CST). Around this time on this date 20 years ago, I was recuperating from a major emergency surgery. I was in my second semester of my freshman year of college and had visited Health Services about a week before the surgery and had been diagnosed with the stomach flu. When the symptoms didn’t go away, I returned to Health Services and was diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. I was told that I needed surgery like yesterday, so I returned home to Chicago for the procedure. There’s a really interesting story that I’m skipping Read More
The Awkward Silence
I was recently sharing with someone the story of how I’m “embedded” in the church history of my “home church.” My family was one of the first families to join, and my mother was pregnant with me at the time. So I’m one of those “grew up in the church” people. This means that I’m quite familiar with Holy Week: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. However, it wasn’t until my time in seminary that I became aware of Holy Saturday. I’m not surprised that it’s a day I’ve overlooked for decades. After all, it’s not mentioned Read More
Hi, My Name Is…
Our University Ministries department hosts a weekly chapel service for the faculty, staff and students. On the days that communion will be served, everyone is encouraged to wear a name tag. This is so the servers can refer to each person by name as they receive the elements. For today’s Ash Wednesday service, the name tags were out – so we could each be referred to by name as ashes were placed upon our foreheads. A few minutes into the message, I noticed something. The campus pastor was wearing a name tag. Most people who attend chapel are regulars; and Read More
My Obituary
My (paternal) grandmother died four days before Christmas. She’d been sick for about a month. Just as I had come to terms with the fact that she was most likely going to die, she seemed to take a turn for the better. About a week later, she was dead. So it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. However, the good part about it all was that my grandmother was 95 years old. So she had lived a long and fruitful life. On top of that, she was prepared to die. Not just figuratively but very literally. As we Read More