Pacific Northwest Before Deployment
7.18.24

With plans to move overseas for full-time ministry within the next year, our family wanted to do one last big excursion stateside. The Pacific Northwest has been at the top of my unofficial travel bucket list, so in celebration of my 25th birthday, 1,000 days of being married, and all the other little milestones to account for before we leave, we ventured off for another camper van cruise out West (with our 9-month old!). As typical of my beginner-blogger days, I’ve got lots (note: lots) of pictures! ​

Mobile Memories With Meemaw
5.29.23

Thailand
7.24.22
I have been begging to take a trip with my Meemaw + Pappaw for years now, but was caught up in college, graduate school, marriage, etc. These were bus trips that the two of them enjoyed together for many years; but as his health began to decline, and my interest + availability to go on such trips increased, Meemaw was unable to both stay to take care of Pappaw + also commit to be away traveling with me. So finally, at the cusp of many big milestones, Meemaw + I embarked on a long-awaited, sovereignly-timed, 1:1 trip together. 
สวัสดีคะ! At the start of the summer, Jay + I journeyed with two friends from our church and their baby to Bangkok, Thailand. We spent six weeks connecting with families partnered with our church, getting a feel for their long-term missionary/church planting life overseas, and serving them in whatever ways that we could. This experience has not only deepened relationships, but has given us deeper understandings of the global mission of God.

Little Lake Tahoe Teaser
5.04.22

As a Spring Break expedition + a belated wedding celebration from Jay’s uncle, we traveled to Lake Tahoe for just a few days. Normally I am one to seek out + plan for all of the cool things I want to see or do or places to eat, yet this trip snuck up on us so quickly! I knew, however, that the views would be gorgeous + I definitely wanted to get some hiking in, but it didn’t end up exactly as I envisioned.

What is WellnesS?
4.07.22

I am currently completing my Masters with a focus in Integrative Wellness at Point Loma Nazarene University, of which I am over halfway through. For those of you who know me, this sort of program is a dream. There’s a particular area of interest, beauty, awe, passion that I have found here; every day + every assignment is lined with excitement. There’s also a peculiar coincidence + paradox I have surfaced in the journey as well. Let me elucidate…

ONENESS // 10.2.21
11.02.21

Our wedding day. ​There are far too many words and pictures to share to do this occasion justice, but I would be amiss to not at least acknowledge how grateful + astounded we are at how the Lord has abundantly blessed us in this season, because He has been set first in our lives + in our marriage (Matthew 6:33, Luke 11:28, Psalm 4:7, 84:5, etc.). Here are the highlights of our special day joining as one, and our subsequent journey of life begun together on our honeymoon in Colorado.

may Missions
5.31.21

Stuffed between school + other summer responsibilities were a few lonely weeks that I couldn’t stand to leave free — I saw that time as prime opportunity for me to go somewhere or serve somehow, so I reached out to my pastors at church to see if they could find anything for me in their plethora of connections… and long story short, I was sent off to a church in Georgia for the month. Since I didn’t have set expectations for what I would be doing during my time there, I had no idea that God would use me in the ways that He did; teaching me more about myself, preparing me for my future, and challenging a well-established church to look at things from new perspectives for the furtherance of the Gospel + God’s Kingdom.

"What Will You Have me Do, Lord?"
4.01.21

That’s the question I have been asking myself over the past month. I have a big year ahead of me. There’s so many exciting events + moments + opportunities ahead, some of which I had planned for + expected, but others that I had no idea were going to be coming in this season of my life. With the combination of these factors, I am pausing to reflect + reevaluate the plan I had set for myself. I have spent a lot of this past year + especially the past couple of months in a lot of prayer; prayer for where God has me + where God is leading me.

2020: Reimagined, Reset, Remade
12.14.20

This blog was intentionally created + commenced as a travel blog to share some of my spontaneous excursions + planned destinations. However, 2020 has been a year that did not allow for many of those events to occur — at least not afar. This year has encompassed frequent flexibility + a healthy dose of discoveries. The time we have spent adjusting, we have been learning more deeply + growing beyond stagnant routines. My 2020 was a little bit like that...

A Season at Home
7.13.20

As we all know + are well (may be too well) aware of, COVID-19 has shifted many plans we’ve had set for 2020. However, those shifted plans haven’t all been for the negative as they seem to be from the outset. And in those shifted plans I hope there have been for you, like there has been for me, some switched priorities + stretched perspectives. 

St. Augustine Spring Break
3.29.20

Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) escalation, my roommate + I had planned to venture down to St. Augustine for Spring Break. Despite the uncertainty + unknowns including national mandates for social distancing + our university moving to remote learning, we followed through with the adventure anyway, living day by day with the evolving news + surrounding environment.

Denver in December
12.21.19

Whether you’ve read my previous few posts or have heard me ramble on + on about it, you could rightly assume that the time I spent in Denver left a huge impact on my life. I established myriad relationships that were beyond surface level interactions + pined for continual cultivation. my mind seems to always be wandering + my heart yearning for this place + people again, so I decided to follow through + booked a return flight to Denver over my winter break — a little early Christmas surprise for my Colorado comrades.

THREE TRANSFORMATIONS IN TWENTY-NINETEEN
11.06.19

2019 has been a year of complete remodeling, rebuilding, renewing, revamping myself in all sorts of ways. I lived in Ireland for 4 months. I lived in Denver for 2. Then somewhere in between the rest of the time. I learned to let go of my deep-rooted, tight-gripped sin of control; trusting God with whatever unfolds. I learned to open up to strangers + to genuine community – replacing fears + insecurities with fellowship + vulnerability. I learned to dig in – to His character, His calling, His creation, His community.

NEW PHASES, NEXT STAGES
8.30.19

I left Denver on a high (no pun intended). I had made memories + connections like I never have before + like I never expected I would. I departed with a heart full of all the goodness of Christ + a head full of ideas, hopes, plans to come back. Now I'm learning to use those as I am transitioning into another season of life.

Cultivating Community In Colorado
7.12.19

​I have always liked to define myself as being quite independent, isolated, introverted, individualistic. I thrive in solitude — I am more creative, confident, calm, centered when I am left to myself. While great benefit + value, strength + satisfaction may be found in this state, I have learned that it is not meant to dwell in continuously.

DAILY DENVER ROUTINE
6.25.19

Last summer, I embarked on my first mission trip to Mexico. While that was an incredible first experience, I left craving more. This summer, I traveled to Denver, Colorado for two months to explore + engage one of the loneliest cities in the country.

DINGLE, DONEGAL, DEPARTURE
5.10.19

Here it is — my final days in Ireland have come to an end. My last couple of weekends didn’t slow down, but rather, I took advantage of the time to explore some last minute destinations on my list before I parted the island.

Hitting Highlights + Scenic Spots
4.08.19

I’ve officially spent four months living 3,787 miles away from home. Throughout that period I have seen + done so much across Ireland. I obviously couldn’t quite make a separate blog post for each place I visited, event I attended, experience I encountered, so I wanted to go back + share some of those remarkable moments that deserve a bit of recognition.

IReland To Iceland
3.12.19

It’s insane to think that my study abroad time in Ireland has already passed the halfway mark. For my midterm break, rather than retreating to a warmer climate for relaxation as many of my peers, I traded the “R” for a “C” in location name to discover the vast + isolated beauty of Iceland.

The Wild Wind, Weather, Waves Of The West
2.11.19

As a part of my study abroad program, I am taking an Irish Life + Cultures class that includes weekend study tours out to visit some top highlights in Ireland that we are learning about. Our first big trip was out West to visit some coastal cities + staggering scenery.

Dublin, Howth, Malahide, Oh My!​
1.21.19

Greetings! I’ve made my way across the waters + have now begun my adventure in Ireland. I spent my first few days in Dublin getting acquainted with the city that I’ll be living in, then I made my way out to explore a bit outside the concrete confines.

SENDING OFF TO STUDY ABROAD
12.28.18

​Before I even applied to go to school anywhere I knew that I wanted to study abroad at some point during my time in college. I was blessed with the opportunity to go on a short-term study abroad trip to Scotland at the end of my freshman year where I hiked, mountain-biked, kayaked, and canoed along The West Highland Way. Now, I am about to embark on a full semester abroad in Dublin, Ireland.

CREATION MINISTRY
11.23.18

​Throughout the years I have accumulated various interests and skills that I believe God ultimately provided me with in order to fulfill the plan He has laid out for my life. While these passions all seemed to diverge down different avenues, I have begun to see the interconnectedness + alignment of each one of them through the pursuit of creation ministry.

WELLNESS CHECK: CONTROL
10.18.18

My recent blog posts have been fun + full of adventure, activity, awe but something has been pressing on my heart for some time now that I feel like needs sharing. It’s time for me to be honest with myself, and in order to do that I need to allow my heart to be vulnerable + raw so that I can have some accountability in my life, from myself as a self-reminder, as well as from others around me who care about my well-being.

WEEKEND GETAWAYS
09.09.18

The beginning of September translates into the transition into Fall which signals a shift into my student season of life. My summer days spent as an avid world traveler are put on hold for the time being — trading in the passport + sightseeing for thick textbooks + studying. As I am settling into my new routine of courses, labs, tutoring, leading, I wanted to take a moment to reflect back on a few few-day trips that weaved their way into my wondrous weeks of summer break.

WHOLE-BODY WELLNESS WEEK
08.07.18

I recently spent a (short, but sweet) week at my precious grandparents house with intentions of getting some alone time with just the two of them now that I am older — to simply spend time with them, learn from them (mentally, spiritually, realistically), be a part of their day-to-day routines. The whole week was a continuous trip down memory lane + filled with a focus on whole body wellness — preparing healthy meals, going on walks through nature, spending time in the Word + in prayer.

ON MISSION IN MEXICO
07.04.18

Going into my first mission trip I had expectations of what it should look like—going out into local communities each day + presenting the Gospel to people. However, through my experience at Rancho El Camino, God has taught me that that is only one piece of the puzzle; only one job in the great work of extending His Kingdom among the nations. ​

DESERT DRIVE
06.11.18

My family has made it a tradition to visit new National Parks each summer—some of my favorites include Yosemite and Grand Teton. This year, we headed back out to California, but rather than returning to the towering Redwoods + vast canyons, we took a mini western road trip to venture the desert. And good news: I’ve got lots of pictures!

SCOTLAND
05.16.18

This time last year I was diagnosed with an eating disorder and sent to an inpatient care facility with restrictions on any and all physical activity or movement. Now I’m backpacking the West Highland Way in Scotland. My God really did that! Let me tell you more about Him!