Life Unexpected

Yesterday, I had "Mommy Vision" that came out like a stealth bomber.  We had decided to meet up with one of my best friends, Jenny, and her family at the park for lunch.  We figured there was a ton of space to play, run, and roam and we could just catch up on life.  Jenny, who had just had twins, was rocking them in the double stroller and we were deep in conversation as our husbands were manning the other three kids on the playground.  I had just noticed this HUGE...I am talking HUGE...swan creeping behind the trashcan about 50 feet away from us.  I turned to Jenny and said, "Oh my word!  Check out that swan.  It's HUGE!"  She turned and looked, agreed at its bigness, and we went back to our deep conversation. Then all of a sudden, out of my peripheal vision, I noticed Biruk, my very fast (he comes from the region of marathon runners in Ethiopia...he...is...fast...) toddler, sprinting towards the swan.  Side note:  I have heard that swans are mean.  They

When I signed up to run the Chicago Marathon, I knew it was going to be a challenge.  While I was a runner in high school and have completed one half marathon, there is something overwhelming about signing up for a race in which you choose to run 26.2 miles.  I knew it would take a lot of time to put in the runs, a lot of mental energy to complete the really long runs, and a whole lot of willpower to not quit halfway through.  What I didn't know was that I would have a setback at the halfway point of training. A couple of weeks ago, I came home from coaching volleyball and noticed a pain in my lower leg.  At first I thought maybe it was shin splints (I had some great experiences with those in my high school track career), but when the pain seemed to persist in one area, I thought it would be a good idea to go to a sports doctor to make sure I hadn't suffered a fracture.  The good news was that I hadn't.  The bad news...I had a pulled muscle that runs tight next to the sh

When I was in my first year of Seminary, I got my first volleyball coaching job.  I was a barista at the local Starbucks in the community and quickly came to know the Athletic Director at the private school right down the street.  Within a few months of working, he found out I was a volleyball player and offered me a coaching job.  Although I felt inadequate...story of my life...I took the job, and it wound up being an amazing experience.  I not only had the chance to teach girls how to play volleyball, but I was given the privilege of speaking into their life in ways I wouldn't have imagined.  That job was the start to my love for coaching. When we moved to Maryland, I was quickly given another opportunity to coach, this time as a volunteer at a local high school.  A couple of years later, a friend invited me to be the assistant coach at another high school.  I took the position and wound up coaching at that school for 8 seasons with a coach who became a good friend to me and

Almost a year ago, I finished a Women in Youth Ministry Cohort that had a significant impact on my life.  It stretched and challenged me in ways that have changed me personally as well as how I approach ministry (you can read more about my experience here  10 Months...One Defining Chapter ).  To be honest, when I was surrounded by a group of women youth pastors who were asking hard questions AND holding me accountable on a monthly basis, I was somewhat forced (not in a bad way) to face the very things that scared me.  As a result, I have said yes to A LOT of things I didn't ever think I would say yes to, I have taken risks that typically would have been squelched by my fears, and I am learning (still in process) that the things that take us so far out of comfort zone are the very same things that draw us into this deep dependency on God that we could have never imagined.   That dependency is real in my life right now, because...I am training for a marathon! It's funny how G