Towards a Joyful Soul

Most, if not all, of my blog posts focus on the internal. Generally, I do not write about society or politics. I think these topics are best reserved for in-person conversation so there is less possibility to misconstrue and so that you can see that there is a human on the other end of the conversation. At this moment, I think it would be irresponsible to not address the current social moment. I have friends and family who think I'm too conservative and friends and family who think I'm too liberal. My hope is that all of my friends and family will continue to engage with me in respectful and loving conversation. My hope is that you will challenge me to think deeper, reconsider my assumptions, and offer me your experiences and perspectives. I believe that spirituality is not completely separated from how we see and engage with society. I believe that no actions by a person of faith are secular. Jesus challenged social norms (speaking with and lifting up tax collectors, pro...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:4-8 Two memories. In February of 2019, I was choosing how to rate the different sites that I had interviewed with for the YAV program. As I did more research, I read the ethos of the New Orleans site, "Seeking God in the tension of joy and sorrow." I heard a little voice inside me whispering "I want to feel joy." My desire for joy was the deciding factor that brought me here ...

After performing a liturgical dance in January at the request of the pastor of that church, I decided I wanted to build a little repertoire. I enjoyed the process of creation and performance so much that wanted to do it again! Maybe inspired by the melody that the church bells next door chime each day, I decided that my next dance would be to "Be Thou My Vision." While talking to my housemates, Nate told me that he used to love playing that song on the guitar. I invited us to collaborate and perform for the summer Presbytery meeting. While we couldn't perform at Presbytery because it was virtual due to COVID-19, we were in charge of the FPC Hammond Pentecost service, so we had another platform! See our performance here! Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.  Psalm 149:3 Working on my dance turned into a spiritual discipline for me. It was often difficult to make the time to work on it. Also, as someone not trained...