Throughout the past one year, two months of living in a pandemic, my husband Drew and I have embraced a simple practice which has expanded our sense of accomplishment, teamwork, and physical endurance. It makes us feel like lion-hearted champions—heroes, even…

Sozo is a small Greek word that contains an abundance of depth and meaning. It means “salvation,” but also means “made whole” or “healed.” In the spring of 2015, I found myself sitting in a thinly cushioned chair in the small conference room of a mega church—desperately needing wholeness and healing…

I am standing with my Dad at the back of the church, out of sight. It is my wedding day, and I am doing actual lunges (my dress was stretchy) and small Rocky Balboa-style boxing jumps in my stiff red heels (clearly very chill and poised)…

I looked down at the papers in my hands in anger and disbelief. This wasn’t supposed to happen to me. I had done everything “right,” had prayed and stayed faithful, had surrendered this to God one thousand and one times, and yet there I was—two and a half years after my wedding day, signing divorce papers and checking the box that read “irreconcilable differences” as the “reason for dissolution”—as if those two words could ever describe the pain I had endured as I clung to that marriage and what I believed was God’s plan for my life…

When Joy comes to your house,
Welcome her.
Kiss her upturned face and give her a seat
At the head of your table…

It was a chilly evening in early spring, and my husband and I were running late. In the highly introverted pacific northwest, it is a momentous occasion to leave the coziness of one’s home on a dreary midweek evening—a decision not entered into lightly—especially for a church event…

For my dad’s birthday this year, my sister gave him the gift of digitized family videos that were previously unwatchable. And oh, what a treasure trove this has been. This weekend, my husband, family, and I watched as my 7-year-old self gave a groundbreaking performance as the Angel Gabriel in my siblings’ 1997 Christmas production of The Nativity…

On a balmy July night in 2018, I found myself in a crowded upper room, surrounded by Filipina and American women who were praying and worshiping God. This was an act of preparation, for we were about to be sent into the neon lights and booming sounds of the bar district below…

This week, my precious sister was hospitalized. She is at home and doing better now, so strong and so brave—but I am not…

In April of 2019, my husband’s dear mother—Jan—passed away after a long battle with COPD…

It was a dark and dreary Wednesday afternoon, and my mind was filled with thoughts of how broken I felt…