“If you were a pie, how much of the pie do you think your parents know of you?” This is a question that I like to ask students. It’s a fun question because it touches on one’s sense of identity, perception of how they’re seen by their families, and it invites many more questions for further discussion. The answers are extra interesting for the Asian American college students I minister to...
Are the feelings you are experiencing hard to put into words—or maybe you aren’t feeling anything at all? Is it a sadness, but you can’t put a finger on why? Does life seem flat and monotonous with no change in sight? Is it possible that you may be depressed? In his minibook, Depression: The Way Up When You’re Feeling Down, Ed Welch explains it this way, “It is technically called depression, but...
One of the hardest tasks parents face is having to share the loss of a loved one with our children. In this post, I’ll explore how to approach this delicate conversation with honesty, faith, and compassion. We want to come alongside our children as they learn about loss. But in the moments after a loved one dies, our hearts are also gripped with sorrow. Our grief often hinders our...
It is easy for us to think that the Bible was written as theological thought-units. We might mistakenly read the Gospel of Mark as a series of micro-stories instead of one big story, or Romans as a series of devotional thoughts instead of a unified letter. Sometimes the impact of this challenge can be relatively inconsequential, but other times it can result in seemingly faith-filled choices that...
Though it may not be a comfortable topic nor one that is normally addressed in Christian circles, battling a negative body image is a common struggle. If you’re like me, this struggle may have even shaped your life in significant ways. Very simply, body image is the way you picture your outer self. When that mental image is skewed, a battle results, even if the perception of your body doesn’t...
