“Just Show Up…with intentionality, recognizing that the words you use, the actions you display are going to have an impact on someone whether you intend that to happen or not.” These wise words were shared by Pharmacy Professor Kim Jones during a 2022 chapel service and resonated deeply with me as she shared of a …
Author: Julie Powell, Ed.D.
Building a Household
If I were to ask you to take a few moments and describe your Household, what descriptors would you select? Would you describe the physical aspects of your home? The people who live inside? The U.S. Census Bureau’s definition is this: “A household includes the related family members and all the unrelated people, if any, …
Burning Curiosity
“I’m so sorry…for ringing your cowbell!” (Not an unfamiliar phrase to be uttered from these lips. At least the first part)! But last week at early voting in our county, my Burning Curiosity led me to, without permission, pick up the cute little cowbell sitting beside a computer monitor at the check-in desk. With her …
Reporting for Duty
Parking the Jeep between a set of faded white lines in the Penick lot outside of Fred DeLay Gymnasium and voicing the words “Reporting for Duty” may not bear the same weight as it would coming from a military member or first responder; however, that is exactly what I’m being challenged to do by pastor …
Write This Down
Write This Down! These words leapt from the pages of Scripture this morning, echoing one of the discussion themes from yesterday’s dialogue group among faculty. As Cathy described a classroom experience where a student maintained crossed arms and a blank stare throughout her presentation, never once attempting to take any notes on information they would …
Eight Decades
Since we don’t really have a voice into whose family we are born, I feel extremely blessed to have been offered the opportunity to be a part of multiple families—both those who share genetic material with me and those who share their lives with me! Attempting to use words here to express my profound gratitude …
Deep Dive
“Do you want to swim with the sharks?” Not a question I face every day and one I certainly didn’t expect to hear from John David as I neared the University technology booth at the health and benefits fair. But as John David stated, “I’ve seen photos of you swimming with dolphins, it’s now time …
Junk Food
“I bet you don’t eat stuff like this!” This comment was made by my colleague as our paths crossed in the bakery section of our local grocery store. Within his hands, located between an aluminum tray and a plastic lid, was a Danish-style pastry with cream cheese that looked delicious. Just a brief glance into …
Worry’s Kryptonite
How do we eliminate, or at least minimize, the state of anxiety and uncertainty over problems that can often be described as Worry? Believe it or not, there is a time-tested solution that is presented to us in a letter from a man named Paul to a group of people he dearly loved; and the …
Take Courage
Two pounds, five ounces. Not the metrics a parent desires to hear when describing their little boy’s birth weight. Seventy-seven days Benaiah Dew endured the NICU at a Nashville hospital until he graduated to five pounds, five ounces and was able to leave with his adoptive parents on a spring day in 2019. It Takes …