Years ago, I traveled with students to Europe for a semester-long study abroad program. Having led many short-term and longer-term study abroad programs over the years, I’ve seen my share of behavioral and emotional issues faced by students when they’re far from home. In this case, as the weeks progressed, one student’s attitude began to […]
Throughout my life, I have struggled with wanting to be in control. One of the verses I regularly held on to was Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a […]
Recently I stumbled upon Max Lucado’s enchanting children’s story, “You Are Mine.” It’s a tale of little wooden people who obsess over collecting the biggest empty boxes and balls, and the madness that ensues. One wooden person, however, finds solace and identity in the embrace of his wood-maker. I recall the early days of my […]
Let me start by admitting that I was once that lost student, pursuing all the worldliness of college life and running from true freedom and joy found in Christ. I doubt my professors then would have guessed that their sleepy, always-forgetting-something student would be in their position one day. I was an adjunct lecturer teaching […]
My husband and I have completely different careers—he crunches numbers and I punch out prose—I’m an English professor. The demands of our careers and our family sometimes get the best of us, and we end up offering each other our worst—our depleted selves sans empathy, sans affection, sans patience. We’ve been married long enough to know that those difficult times […]
I hate to admit it, but I have often been like many apologists: too quick to give answers and too slow to ask questions. Solomon calls that the approach of a fool: “A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind.” (Proverbs 18:2) Anxious to win arguments Like many […]
For several years, God has burdened my heart to use my platform as a professor to share the love of Christ with the academic community of Latin America. I am so blessed and thankful for the wonderful opportunity God provided to be part of the Faculty Commons outreach to Quito, Ecuador in the summers of […]
After reading A Grander Story: An Invitation to Christian Professors by Rick Hove and Heather Holleman in a Faculty Commons small group Bible study, I was inspired to integrate my research with my faith rather than keeping my work and faith neatly compartmentalized into separate boxes.. As a music professor, I recorded an album entitled Solace specifically focused […]
God inspired me to enter teaching before I knew Him. Initially, I decided to follow my father’s footsteps and enter corporate America. However, halfway through my MBA program, I realized I could get paid for doing what I loved: learning, teaching what I’d learned, and writing. Even though I may not be as bright as most professors, […]
I had been wanting to step out of my comfort zone and serve a population that was completely different from my own, so when my church scheduled a trip to serve refugees in Clarkston, Georgia, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I spent a week learning about the difficult plight of refugees, most of whom […]
