Did you hear about the time…? Did I ever tell you about…? Do you remember…? Were you there when…? For more than thirty-five years at Union University, conversations often began with some version of these phrases. From August 1989—when I arrived as a scared little freshman—until my job ended in 2024, I was frequently regaled …
Author: Julie Powell, Ed.D.
With over 30 years in higher education, I have a passion for seeing people, not only succeed at life, but to flourish in their God-given space personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Me-First Attitude
If you pose a question like, “What are your thoughts on the current college transfer rules?” you’re almost guaranteed to spark a lively debate about the state of intercollegiate athletics—especially on a campus where nearly 80 percent of students are athletes. Teach in a sport-related discipline, and the intensity rises: not only are most students …
Rag Drawer
Perhaps you call it something else—the place where worn-out shirts and frayed washcloths go to linger in a kind of suspended animation until summoned for duty as a dust rag or a soft cloth for waxing the car. Maybe it lives near your Junk Drawer or in some other tucked-away spot, but it serves a …
Weaving Threads
Does anyone else have an unfinished project tucked away at home? Perhaps it was a venture into woodworking, sewing, scrapbooking, or painting—now sitting quietly, reminding you of the Habit of Resilience you didn’t quite embrace to finish what you started. As I placed Christmas decorations around the house this week, I stumbled upon a framed …
Professor Gig
It’s been more than three years since documenting the phrase Gig Economy into a journal. And for many years before penning that phrase to the page, I had an inaccurate definition of what the expression meant. Mistakenly, any time I heard a reference to a Gig Economy, my mind conjured up thoughts of computers, data, …
Not an Expert
Yazoo, Mississippi—If reading those words fails to bring to your mind a rich southern drawl sharing the stories of Marcel Ledbetter and coon hunting, then you did not have the same rich childhood that I did growing up in the 1970s. But guess what? You do not have to miss out, because you can Just …
Just Ask Google
Just Ask Google. Have you come across these advertisements yet? If not, guess what? You can google it! (Aren’t I funny? Insert sarcasm). Perhaps my initial reaction stems from the current pressure I am feeling to convince these precious young college students in front of me every day that they do indeed have something to …
Appreciative Examen
Are you a math person or a language person? Perhaps, like me, you might rate yourself somewhere in between, similar to what is described in a previous post about being a Lark, Owl or Third Bird. Providing information in a numerical format seems easier for me to remember, but words also matter. Ask me to …
Come Jesus Come
When do you become aware of just how selfish humans can be? When do you feel convicted of your own personal selfishness? Has a moment ever struck you—perhaps even while praying—when you realized you placed your own desires above what’s best for others? If I’m honest, this realization probably happens more often than I consciously …
Restored Breath
Name one aspect of human life that you are currently taking for granted? If someone posed that question to you right now as you read this post, how would you respond? Might your answer be that we are not self-made people as I describe in the post Belly Button? Or for those who are entering …
Flourishing @ Life 