Had I attended the birding workshop at Clay Hill Memorial Forest or consulted Dr. Andy Madison, I might have understood what unfolded before me. Instead, I was given a quiet, everyday moment that carried a profound message—no pulpit, no sermon—just persistence revealed in real time. This spring, the message arrived in the form of a …
Category: Flourishing
Cognitive Closure
When a season ends painfully or unexpectedly, the mind naturally searches for Cognitive Closure—a firm explanation that will quiet uncertainty and restore a sense of stability. Psychologically, this is understandable. When a story feels unresolved, we long for clarity, coherence, and a verdict about what happened and what it means. For faculty, whose vocation is …
Intellectual Hospitality
Flourishing doesn’t begin with answers, it begins with welcome. Flourishing at Life means we must discuss growth that is whole, durable, and faithful—growth that integrates body, mind, spirit, and vocation. Again and again, a quiet but powerful theme emerges: flourishing happens where people feel seen, heard, and invited into meaningful conversation. That posture has a …
Climate Change
As an educator who teaches environmental health, I could easily present statistics and expert opinions about the physical well‑being of our planet. But that’s not the Climate Change I want to talk about today. Instead, I want to invite you to consider a shift far more urgent than melting ice caps or receding glaciers: the …
Troublesome Women
In my earlier post Here Comes Trouble, I talked about the good kind of trouble—the kind that might even have you humming along to that 1990s country classic, “T‑R‑O‑U‑B‑L‑E.” But when we look at Jesus and His disciples, “trouble” takes on a deeper meaning. It isn’t distress or anxiety; it’s a holy disruption—an interruption that …
A Thousand Cuts
How did I feel when my institution’s all‑male leadership left me sitting alone on the row behind them at the conference athletic meetings? I remember wondering whether they would want their own wives to experience that same awkward moment—standing alone, excluded from the row, rather than welcomed as respected colleagues among their peers. I shrugged …
Flourishing Feet
Flourishing Feet… Really, feet?! I know—feet might seem like an odd place to begin a conversation about flourishing. Even those of you who have patiently endured my many God Winks involving the word flourishing may think I’ve finally stretched the metaphor too far. But stay with me. There’s a story here. Recently, in my graduate …
Flourish Together
How do you know when you are trusting God’s timing and not your own? If hindsight were equal to foresight, the answer might come easily. But if I could see the future, there would be no need for faith—no need to rely on God. This Paradoxical Life often rattles my thinking and leaves me confused. …
Be Like Fred
I am fully aware that my age is showing when I use quotes like “Show me the money!” and “You complete me” in class and none of the students have any idea that I’m referencing a sports movie. How can we discuss the route to becoming a sport agent if students are unfamiliar with Jerry …
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 …
Flourishing @ Life 