I’ve been in Nashville for a little over two weeks now, and here is what I’ve noticed so far and some initial thoughts… Live music is always playing. People are so generous.  The Nashville Fellows program runs deep. One day after arriving in Nashville, close to 75 people were already ready to welcome me and the other Fellows and help in whatever way they could.  Hattie B’s may be the new Lord’s chicken. Sorry, Chick-fil-A. Nashville traffic is no joke. And that’s coming from a girl born and raised braving Atlanta traffic.  I don’t like discomfort. At all. But the L ..read more

It beats me why I was honored to write the last blog post for the Class 11 fellows. I can’t do the past nine months justice in a short blog post. I can talk about my work experience, host family, or what I’ve learned in class, but it won’t compare to what I lived out through the program. Most difficult of all, I struggle to put into words the people from this year and what they mean to me. This was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to walk in close community with fellow believers. Truthfully, at first, I didn’t like it. I am not someone who likes to be known, and I would muc ..read more

Being an artist can be pretty tough. It takes so much dedication to make something to be proud of. The years and years of working on my art has given me the skills to create works I never could before and the knowledge to better appreciate all kinds of artists. However, I often find myself disillusioned with much of the Christian art that I come across. That has nothing to do with the quality of their work, and is entirely based on my subjective opinions on art. Despite sharing a mutual love of Christ, there are only a few Christian artists whose work speaks to me on a deeper level.  One ..read more

Silence and slowing down can be uncomfortable, especially in a culture that values efficiency and instant results. However, as Christians, the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude should not be overlooked. If I'm being honest, spending uninterrupted time with God has been challenging for me recently. So when the Silent Retreat rolled around, I was excited for solitude. As I settled into the silence at Saint Joseph's Monastery, I wrestled with expectations of how I wanted the weekend to go. I had entered the retreat after a hectic morning, which included a flat tire. On top of that, I ..read more

I think one of the most challenging social dynamics of being a Christian is what to make of people's opinions of yourself. What I mean by this is how we value and interpret what others say about us. We know that, as Christians, our identity is found in Christ – His perspective on us is what truly matters. Others' perspectives on us or our own do not define us. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we live knowing God loves us and finds infinite value in us. Even better, God's assessment of us does not change. Whereas others' and our own opinions of ourselves are precarious and unstable ..read more

Lent has always been one of the most interesting parts of the Christian calendar to me. It comes 40 days before Easter, is marked by ashes on the forehead, and is typically accompanied by a fast. Nowadays, that fast may be anything from food to social media, but if you are anything like me, you find yourself asking reasonably often, “What is that fast even for?”  Most of the time, we fast from things that are bad for us (soda, candy, sweets, etc…). While that is not necessarily bad, I think it is important to remember that fasting is a deeply spiritual practice.  Matthew 6:17-18 say ..read more

I had always been the type of person to seek comfort. It is what felt secure and controlled. A voice in my head always told me to avoid the unfamiliar and seek what I knew to be safe. I had always had Type A tendencies - I believed that there always had to be a plan for the foreseeable future. I thought that a life without change and a lot of curveballs was the definition of a “good life”. I believed that living comfortably, with lots of predictability and stability, would give me the mental means to see and experience the Lord more easily.  Before my time as a Fellow, I attended colleg ..read more

“26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,[a] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being[b] might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him[c] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so tha ..read more

What a joy it is to be called Children of God! In Matthew 18, Jesus tells us of the richness of being like children, saying, "[children] are the greatest in Heaven." For me, I find myself having my most childlike posture during the holiday season. I am sure all the other Fellows reading this are nodding their heads with a chuckle as they have richly experienced my love of the season. The times of Thanksgiving and Advent fill my heart with an abundance of wonder and gratitude that pours out of me like a clogged kitchen sink that was left on. In light of this, while I do love to marvel at the gr ..read more

Picture this: It’s a Wednesday morning, or pick any day. Really, it doesn’t matter. I’m making my coffee, part of my morning routine, and I’m sure part of yours. For me, it fits perfectly in between putting on my contacts so I can see and pick out my outfit for the day, a decision that should never be made non-caffeinated. Early in the semester, I wrote out the liturgy for morning coffee and taped it to the coffee maker so I could read it as the sweet and earthy aroma of the coffee drips out of the wonderful and amazing coffee machine that is a Keurig cabinet above. Ambitious, I know, and I pr ..read more