I Am Not Nervous Eating

Those who have known me for a while know that I’ve been outspoken about my long battle with eating disorders stemming from adolescent trauma, insecurity and experiences as a competitive swimmer. Back on social media now because of COVID, I was scrolling through my feed the other day and noticed a lot of posts about…

Read More

Homeless

I am standing outside of the hotel ballroom I had entered less than half an hour ago as I followed a sign that pointed the way to a 10am church service. Traveling for the weekend with my two young children to my once-hometown of San Diego, I had the desire for a quiet moment with…

Read More

A Day of Death and Life at the Beach

“How about we go to Palm Beach today?” Dave asks as I hand him a glass of the dark purple, nutrient-dense smoothie I’ve just prepared. “Sure,” I answer. An hour later, we are packing up the car, and he asks if I want my fins. “No, thanks; I’m not swimming in that water,” I reply,…

Read More

Where is the Love?: On Jesus, Politics and Church

In 2011, I walked into a church with bright lights and a large stage, inspiring messages, and a community full of well-dressed 20 and 30-somethings, a seeming heaven-sent rebuttal to the San Diego bar and club lifestyle that I had tired of. The crowd stood during worship, young people with arms outstretched to the sky…

Read More

On Hiroshima & Choosing Peace

Today, August 6th, 2018, is the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States. The white concrete ceiling supported by horizontally-running exposed redwood beams soars at least two stories above the heads of about 150 seated attendees at Sunday’s gathering at the Green Gulch Zen Center in Mill Valley. Something about…

Read More

Becoming Love

“He said we would identify ourselves simply by how we loved people. It’s tempting to think there’s more to it, but there’s not. Love isn’t something we fall into; love is someone we become.” – Bob Goff, Everybody Always I am sitting six rows from the stage. The tears that have started to run from…

Read More

WOW: In the Small Moments of Easter Sunday

Walking around the kitchen counter to gather up the remaining dishes after dinner, my eye catches a ripe mandarin hue beaming through the window. I stop and turn to see a whale spout just south of the sun that is settling itself atop the horizon line for a final glow before dripping into dusk. “Mama,…

Read More

WOW: A Father’s Tribute

Wonder : a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable. This week’s experience of wonder came when I read a father’s tribute to his preemie son who had just left this world for heaven. Callen Jeremiah Rooney was born at 22 weeks. Although I am not currently on…

Read More