A Poem for My Students

Listen, I won't pretend to be some amazing poet. Yes, I teach English, but I've never taken a course on writing poetry, and I don't claim to be any expert on the subject. So please don't misunderstand my posting this poem as me thinking I have any poetic skill worth publishing. I do, however, have …

Why I Stopped Praying for My Future Husband

From a young age, I knew that I had this desire to be a wife, and I talked myself into believing that God would not give me such a desire without fulfilling it. However, that belief was not based in biblical truth. Rather, it was birthed out of my dire longing to hold onto the idol of marriage, an idol that had seeped its way into my heart through church culture, movies, and the incompletion I felt in being single. Correction: the incompletion I still feel in being single.

What If We Stopped Blaming the Victim?

"People just need to harden up," he said in response to my defense of a young lady who was offended by a joke about OCD, a debilitating disorder that had brought her great suffering, as if her mental illness were something to be mocked for a few laughs. People who use mental illness for the …

What It’s Like to be Living in Charlotte Right Now

As I'm sure you know by now, Charlotte, North Carolina has been overcome by chaos this week in the form of protests-turned-riots. It is a heartbreaking situation for all involved. But don't listen to me; hear it from someone who's living it. My dear sister Kristen lives in and loves the Queen City. Her witty …