You Could Call God a Wedding Planner

The morning before my husband, Jesse, proposed, I was awoken by a startling dream. In the dream, I stood on a riverbank with raging waters flowing past me. A large, scary wolf stood on the opposite bank, snarling and frustrated that it could not cross the river to get to me. Just as Moses’s face shone after spending time in the presence of God, my mind glowed with the supernatural. I knew the dream held a message for me in it. Since I had no major plans for the day (at least that I knew of), I sat in my light-filled breakfast nook, clutching my coffee mug with an unsettled mind bent on prayer. I couldn’t grasp the significance of the dream. Continue reading

Rebuilding Dreams From Ashes

After Jess and I had been dating for a year we began to dream a semi-perfect future. We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect, because we’d been in the church long enough to know that’s false thinking. But still you dream and you put into place plans. One of my mentors in College told me to “Hold plans loosely,” which was wise advice especially in light of what happened to us next Continue reading

Take a Moment to Breathe

Between my sister and I, we’ve spent a total combined 15 years on the swim team. A lot of people find competitive swimming to be difficult because they see it like running underwater. Go as far as you would on your two feet on dry land but try to not breathe. When really swimming is all about the breathing. Making sure you let the air out when your head is in the water and that you quickly and efficiently raise your head for a millisecond to get air. You can get as strong as you want — but if you don’t learn how to breathe well in the water you’ll never get very far. Continue reading