As I begin my last final paper for Duke, it is beginning to feel real that things are changing. My time as a divinity school student is coming to an end.

About two years ago at this time, in April of 2020, I started thinking about what it means when life begins to feel like Holy Saturday. In other words, the time when life feels like grief and suffering.

I remember riding down the road as a kid and wondering how much longer we could possibly be in the car. I wanted to get out and move my legs.

When I was in high school my youth minister Andy had a two-word phrase that our whole youth group knew well. He reserved this phrase for the very last day of our week-long spring break and summer mission trips…

I did not grow up really observing lent, we didn’t get ashes or give up anything. This year, I decided to try to fully participate, and y'all, I failed. I am back to my habits!

Each year, right in the middle of the grief and solemnity of the Lenten season, St. Patrick’s Day serves as a disruption. A day about all things green, Irish, festive, and fun.

This past Sunday, I briefly recounted the history of Lent. Lent started out as a 2-3 day rigid fast. Over time, the practice has lengthened and broadened.

For years, Lent, to me, was a second chance at my new year’s resolutions which had generally  been long abandoned. Having grown up in the Baptist church, not much had been taught about Lent - I only knew that some people decided to give up eating chocolate for a little while.

Spring is in the air- we can feel the weather shift. We can see the hopeful blooms. Change is on the horizon.

Valentine’s Day might have passed, but it is so important that we continue celebrating the love in our lives every day. On Sunday during the children’s message, we talked about how God created love, shows us love, and is love.

A wedding is a special occasion. Whether in a cathedral or a backyard, a country church or an urban art gallery, a wedding is a special occasion. Whether the couple spends $100 or $50,000, a wedding is a special occasion.

What do engaged couples, beekeepers, epilepsy, fainting, marriage, plague, and traveling have in common? All of these things share a patron saint, of course - St. Valentine!

According to the Revised Common lectionary, one of the texts for this week is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13: If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…

On New Year’s Day in 2019 I posted a picture to my social media with a (long) caption that read: “I don’t know about you, but New Years tends to bring a little bit of anxiety for me. So much can happen in a year…”

It’s a new year, a time that many consider the perfect opportunity for new beginnings. Last January I did exactly that. I got married and set off on the wild adventure of sharing my life with my favorite person.

I am a full-on New Years sucker. I am the resolution-making Queen, the patron saint of new beginnings, do-overs, and fresh starts. I love New Years - I have never missed a midnight ball-drop in all of my teenage or adult years.

Twas the days before Christmas and all through my apartment, every creature was stirring, especially the dog. No decorations in sight, Amazon and Etsy packages stacked up high, one could say that unprepared for Christmas was I.

I only have two presents left to buy this Christmas, but I’ve been struggling to find the perfect gift for my family members. I could buy them a sweater or book (because no one can have enough sweaters or books) but is that what they really want or need?

My left arm doesn’t work. No seriously, it’s just dead weight. I can’t do anything with it. It just hangs there. Somehow my fingers still move.

One year I received a pair of rollerblades which I wore inside all day, rolling through the house with a loud whir that I know now must have driven my Mom crazy. Another year, I woke on Christmas morning to find a set of inflatable furniture…