Pages From My Journal

A little while ago, I wrote this flash fiction piece and I decided earlier this month that I wanted to share it with you guys. I also have the pleasure of sharing the illustration created by Aravis. It was so cool to see her enjoy the story and creatively portray a really neat aspect of the tale. Show her some love and visit her blog, listed below. ~~~           “Magic Not for Hire” The paint covered cloth sucked the water from the hairs of my brush. I mixed a little burnt sienna with a bit of white. The brush created thin strokes along the woman’s hair, highlighting strands of brown. I rinsed the brush, dipped its end in pure white, and added the evidence of the sun in her eyes. She would always see the light wherever she looked. Pounding came from the door. “Wait a moment.” I rose from my stool and covered the canvas with a sheet, careful not to smudge the wet paint. “Enter.” Roger strutted into the room. “Freder...

1.      I am a college student Studying is hard. I have lots to do, late nights to stay awake for, and early mornings to jump to. 2.     I am a poor college student. Cream gets expensive, ya'll. 3.     I am a college student in Ohio. It's cold. 4.     I like tasting coffee. Sometimes the rich flavor gets hidden with all the extra stuff you can add to coffee, and I just enjoy coffee on it's own. 5.     It's faster. Ordering "just a cup of coffee" saves a lot of time in lines at coffee shops. I don't have to wait in the line of specialty drinks. Not that I visit coffee shops much. (see number 2) 6.     It's more filling. I don't like lattes because I feel like I’m spending money on air, and I’m not big on that. (Also, see number 2 : ) 7.     It simplifies my life. Right now, the fewer extra things I have to think about, the better. I...

Dear Dreams,       I know we've had a number of disagreements in the past. You've hurt me, and I've avoided you for weeks at a time. I let you dictate my life in my past, but I stopped letting you control how I go through my day.       Some of my friends talk about their dreams and laugh about their silliness. Their dreams are light, lunch table conversations. Their dreams make them smile, happy. Why can't you do that for me? Why do you, instead, make my heart pound in my chest? Why do you frighten me?      Could I please enjoy you? Don't give me a crazy, too far to reach, hope of the future. That would still hurt. But, I could handle that if it meant I didn't have to feel loss and pain all over again in my sleep.       I thought we had come to an agreement. You don't scare me, and I won't wish for a fairytale. No dreams is better than nightmares.       ...

     Last semester my advisor told me that there were only two girls in my Biblical Studies major. This semester, my friend did not come back to school. At first, I feared feeling lonely in my Biblical Studies classes this semester. But, I was surprised to find that after a couple weeks of class, I had more friends in my class of nearly all guys than in my class of all girls. They treated me like one of them, joked around, but respected my ability to learn Greek as well as they could. The professor told me early in the semester to, "make sure they treat you well, or I'll beat them up for you." It felt great to know that I could do the same work guys could do and be respected while doing it. But, it's understood that they are studying to become pastors. And I'm not.       I'm not in Biblical Studies because there aren't many women in that major. I'm not there to prove to the guys that I can do just as well as they can. Neither is my siste...

"Why are you here?" One of woman cocked her head and stared me down. "Because you are people who deserved to be loved." I looked into her eyes and saw a hurting, broken woman. "Oh." She pulled her feet onto the chair and hugged her knees. ~ To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing. What do you say to women who are waiting on court for a judge to dictate the next few months or years of their lives? What do you say to women bound by addictions and family shame? How do you talk about life with women who have no hope? They do not believe that you're not getting anything out of being there. They say, "you wouldn't imagine," their life, their mistakes, their pain. And, they're right. I knew the truth and power of the gospel, and I knew that if any of these women found the grace of God that day, it wasn't because of me. I didn't save anyone today, but five women accepted Jesus as their Savoir and Redee...