• terror
    abuse

    Terror: Snapshots of Narcissistic Abuse

    I first experienced terror in a nightmare at the age of 5. I sat on my bedspread, suspended hundreds of feet above the neighborhood below. A string dangled from one corner of the bright green and yellow coverlet, just out of the reach of a horrifying King Kong trying to pull me down from my unsteady perch. I couldn’t move for several heart-stopping moments. When I finally found my scream, I bolted to my parent’s bedroom. Terror feels a bit different as an adult. It is even difficult to write this. My innate dissociative tendencies keep interrupting my chain of thoughts. But it must be noted that victims of domestic…

  • creativity
    Creativity,  Faith

    Creativity: What You Need to Know

    Creativity is the most misunderstood gift I know. Students, coworkers, and even casual acquaintances regularly inform me that they lack the creative spark. Most, if not all, have a misconception of creativity as if it were a rare commodity that only a few wild-eyed writers and crazy-haired artists possess. The truth is that as beings made in the image of God, we are all creatives. We must start with creation, as described in Genesis, to understand who we are. In the beginning, God said let there be light. I think it is worth noting that light already existed before this moment. After all, God is light, himself, as scripture indicates.…

  • ship in storm/ walking on water
    Faith,  Featured

    Walking on Water: Celebrating Risk and Failure

    In rereading the miracle of Jesus walking on water, I notice a couple of things I hadn’t before. The first is that the water Jesus walked on was stormy. The image I had in my head previously was of Jesus walking across smooth waters, the light dancing across the little ripples. But no, Jesus traversed wind and waves, apparently without any trouble. The second thing I notice is that Peter, not Jesus, initiated the whole walking on water fiasco. Peter challenged Jesus to prove himself. And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Matthew 14: 28 I admit…