Traveling Thoughts

My brother and I are 15 months apart, practically Irish twins, and you couldn’t get more Irish with names like "Katie and Patrick" and my brother being born on St. Patrick’s Day. While we grew up in the same household and share the same parents, there are more ways that we are different than we are alike. While we share having curly hair, the same nose, and blue eyes - even standing next to each other people wouldn’t believe we were related let alone siblings. When it comes to disposition, we were on opposite ends of the spectrum as children. Being the older sibling, teachers having my brother the next year were often shocked to find out that we were related. Growing up we both shared a love of climbing any and all things but mostly trees! While we both started out fearless in conquering the scaling of branches and seeing how high we could get, our reaction to getting down was much different. Sure, it was all fun and games when we were climbing and looking out into t...

"What is an 'Any-a-gram?'" I asked. "It's called the 'ENNEAGRAM! " my friend retorted. My first introduction to the Enneagram was in January 2017 at the UMC Lead Conference  in Charlotte, North Carolina. I could barely say the word, let alone begin to spell it. People from the conference encouraged me to start my Enneagram journey on the drive home by listening an episode from The Liturgists' podcast. I imagine this advice came because it was safer listening to a podcast than reading a book while driving. It was two hours , but it was so engaging I barely noticed the time and after it ended, I was eager to learn more. It's episode 37 in case you want to check it out for yourself. The Enneagram is perhaps best defined by Enneagram author and expert Suzanne Stabile as, "nine ways of seeing and nine ways of processing our experiences in the world. Additionally, there are nine ways of answering some of life's basic ques...

Words carry unbelievable power. Words have the unique ability to help, to bring joy, to encourage, to destroy, to cause pain, to shame, or to humble. Our words matter. This not only applies to the words we speak to others, but what we say to ourselves. I strongly believe that we can be our own worst critic and say things to ourselves that we would NEVER dream to say (or think about) to other people.   Knowing my tendency to listen to my inner critic and leaning into the idea of living a purposeful and meaningful life, ( check out the first part of the blog here ) I decided at the end of 2013 to select a POSITIVE word to live into in the coming year. That started a chain reaction of going year to year over the last 5 years as a way live a meaningful story and a practice I plan to continue.  My inspiration in sharing these past words and the word for 2019, comes from a graphic artist friend, Adam Cassidy . Adam created a logo for the Kettering  Before...

As each year comes to a close and we anticipate what is in store for the new year, I have found this period of "in-between" to be a sacred time of reflection.  Looking back to the end of 2013, I was ready to move on and for the year to be over (anyone else experience this some years?). It was a year of tragedy, loss, and grief with the passing of two people I deeply love only weeks apart. I spent the rest of the year reeling trying to make sense of it. For the first time, I grasped how finite life is and felt a deep drive to live my story in a meaningful way. One of the reflections I wrote down during this period was,  “Living an intentional life with purpose and direction isn’t something we naturally do. That part takes practice, commitment, and discipline.”  At the end of 2013, I wasn’t happy with what word I would use to describe my year. While thinking about this, I decided I wanted to start tangibly living out the quote above by choosing a word or ph...

This post was originally featured on the Colocate Ministry Consulting blog. When I was in high school and asked what I was planning to do “when I grow up” my response would always be, “I’m going to change the world!” This might seem like a starry eyed, even naïve response to this question, but my confidence was the product of the youth leaders who poured into me starting at age 14. Not only did they encourage me to be an agent of change while still in high school, but they offered the space, resources, and coaching in order to make ideas a reality. This drive to “change the world” came from my very first mission trip when my eyes were open to a loving, liberating Jesus that calls us to be partners of bringing the Kingdom of the God here to earth. My 14-year-old eyes were open to this new idea and way of life because of a 10-year-old girl at the  Tijuana Christian Mission . During that week, I witnessed this young girl care for the younger children at the orphanage – reading ...

Outlook at Rising Park in Lancaster The allure of Columbus has been stirring in me since the first time I visited Easton as a senior in high school. It only grew stronger as I went through seminary at Methodist Theological School in Ohio . Thanks to my seminary education, I was able to explore the Southside of Columbus with the Church for All People , met up with many friends and classmates all around the city, and visited different places of worship thanks to an Interfaith exploration class. During this time, I always said “one day I’m going to live in Columbus.” Viola – that “one day” became a reality for two years. While the last two years in ministry was one for the books, so was my time in Columbus. Work hard, play hard. The balance is needed and over the last year, I made it a priority. Whether you live in Columbus or find yourself visiting, here is a list of some of the BEST things this city has to offer:   Apple picking at Lynd’s Fruit Farms ...