This is just the beginning.

Everyone has a story.  We start our stories on blank pages, choosing which parts we remember and which parts we forget, choosing whether to make ourselves wise or broken or funny.  We tell stories as a way of reaching out to other people and reminding ourselves that we are not alone in our experiences.  We … Continue reading →

The One About World Vision: Part 2

Maybe in a few days, this will all blow over.  Both sides have dug their trenches, formed their alliances, and clearly identified their moral position, and now we’ll sit here in a complete stalemate for a few more months until the next battle arises, and then we’ll resume throwing grenades at each other.   But, … Continue reading →

The One About World Vision

I’ve been spending too much time on the internet over the past two days.  I’ve been reading blogs and news articles and getting too frustrated about insensitive commenters and unintentionally starting arguments on my facebook page about a certain issue.  I’ve pretty much given up eating and sleeping, and it’s gone so far that I’ve had to … Continue reading →

It’s a new year… Are you ready?

I’m about to get really preachy and Jesus-filled and spiritual here… I’m just saying.  You have been warned. This year, I am resolving not to make new year’s resolutions.  Not that there’s anything generally wrong with the practice, but right now, I am more in need of grace.  Before I create more standards to live … Continue reading →

Everything will be okay.

I have another confession to make:  I am a book peeker.  I’m not sure if there is an official name for this practice, but when I am reading a book for the first time and the plot has thickened to that nerve-wracking suspenseful climax where I honestly can’t imagine it ever resolving, I skip ahead … Continue reading →

November

I have a confession to make. I know absolutely nothing about God.  Over the past few months, I have exhausted myself crying and shouting and having one-sided arguments with an invisible deity who doesn’t feel the need to defend himself. I have been envious of all of the people who can just live their lives … Continue reading →

Pilsen

Every place I’ve ever lived has changed me. The first time I set foot in Anderson, Indiana, I hated it.  The first time I visited Pilsen, I felt like I had boarded pink line in Chicago and ended up in Mexico.  I was only a few el stops away from the loop, but it felt … Continue reading →

Next year all our troubles will be miles away…

As Christmas is approaching this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about what Christmas is supposed to be.  Every Christmas special and TV commercial you see shows happy families and smiling shoppers and romance and Christmas cheer.  After all, Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of year.  But then I look at my own … Continue reading →

Life in Fantasy Land

I’ve realized something.  I love writing.  I love pounding on my keyboard and organizing the jumbled cacophony inside my head to something readable on a page.  Somehow, the world makes more sense when I write.  Though I am a mediocre writer at best, I aspire to be a good writer, because a good writer can … Continue reading →

Under Construction

Update: This essay is featured here as part of the Burnside Writers Collective. These days, I should put a sign around my neck that says “Under Construction – Sorry for the Inconvenience”.  It would save me from a lot of awkward small talk explaining why my life doesn’t seem to be going anywhere just now.   Dealing … Continue reading →