Last Friday, I had the awesome opportunity to speak in Biola’s undergraduate chapel about my thesis on shame and how it affects our relationships with God and others. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to share about what I’ve learned about shame and grace, and also my own struggle with shame and depression, and the hope and healing that I’ve found in my life through community. It all came about quite organically and it was...
I write this blog tonight next to two cell phones – one is mine, and one belongs to the hospital I work for. I am the social worker on-call tonight. You might be wondering what we could get called in for late at night, or you may have guessed it already… death. As a hospital social worker I work with death a lot. Most of the time it is the “death” of something that patient...
In light of the Walter Scott and Eric Harris killings, along with the #ShutdownA14 protests against police brutality this past week, I’d like to share an excerpt from my essay entitled, “To Establish Justice at The Gates”, which was published in the Los Angeles Review of Books earlier this month. How can I be well, when my sister is not well; how can I not be well if my brother has found love? […] in this concept, when...
There is a man in our congregation who is blind and he is a sweet old man (we’ll call him Jerry). I often see him getting dropped off on Sunday morning by public transit or walking down the sidewalk after church. Sometimes he is alone and oftentimes, there is a member of our congregation walking with him, helping him get food, or helping him navigate large crowds of people. I’ve walked with him a few...
Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday as the start of the Holy Week. As I was listening to the message at my church, I reflected on the speaker, Chad Glazener’s, comment to not move too quickly through the different events of Holy Week. Often times, we want to rush into the celebration of Easter, that we don’t give the space to reflect on the events leading up to it, such as Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem,...
This past Saturday we completed our third annual online academic conference, Ecclesia and Ethics. This year our focus was on Human Sexuality. We heard several great papers from speakers like Jenell Paris, Tremper Longman III, Preston Sprinkle, Wesley Hill, Irmtraud Fischer, Mark Yarhouse, Andrew Marin, Frank Heinrich, Gabriel Dy-Liacco, and many others. If you’re interested in listening to some of the recordings from this year’s conference you can do so by registering (which simply includes...
This past weekend, I went to the Saturday night closing session of the TogetherLA Conference held in the heart of Los Angeles at the West Temple Cathedral, and listened to Tim Keller talk about our culture and identity. Many Christian leaders from a diverse set of backgrounds came together to talk about the many issues that are facing Los Angeles, and how to reach this city with the love of Jesus. I appreciated this conference...
Last year, I started “Girl Time with Calvin” on our High School’s Winter Retreat, which was basically a fun way for me to sit down with the female senior class and hang out with them. Girl Time with Calvin consists of me talking with them and answering any questions they have about life, love, and God. Much to my surprise, it’s caught on, so that this year, the senior girls were adamant about making space for Girl...
We’re back in the season of Lent, that time of somber reflection, prayer, repentance, and fasting. For many of us, it wasn’t something we grew up with but has grown to become a very meaningful season of reflection and devotion. For me, Lent has come to represent discipline. Fasting and devoted prayer does not come easily for me (as I’d imagine is true for most people). It requires a great deal of self-discipline, which means...
Yesterday, in honor of the martyrdom of St. Valentine, I hosted a dinner party with a few of my girl friends. It was a good time of delicious food and engaging conversation. While Valentine’s Day can be S.A.D. (Singles Awareness Day), I wanted to celebrate the holiday in the truest fashion with having a feast day celebrating St. Valentine, as was the origins of the holiday on the liturgical calendar. While romantic love is often...
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