Several years ago, my family and I spent a weekend visiting friends in North Central Indiana. Although this part of the country is home to lots of regular Indiana folks, it’s one of the places known as “Amish country,” a handful of regions in the United States that are home to large Old Order Mennonite […]
Depending on who’s providing the definition, a leader is… – “the person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country“; – “a person who leads“; – “the person who convinces other people to follow“; or – something more complicated. Here’s something a leader is not: a description of your true mission in life. I […]
As a young student, I spent kindergarten through eighth grade in three different rural schools. These schools were tiny–one in particular, where I attended half a year and was the only third grader in the entire school (yes, I’m serious). I joined up with the first and second graders. Our classroom picture shows seven smiling […]
I spent last weekend in the mountains, hanging out with a bunch of coaches and others who do transformational work: counselors, spiritual directors, chaplains. This was my first time attending the annual summit of WayPoint Coaching Community, a Christ-centered community of professionals who have a passion to increase the impact of metamorphic coaching and coaching […]
A little bit of bad news can bring out the worst in us. And when journalistic organizations can find ways to keep the bad news coming (or keep bringing in the experts to speculate on an unfolding situation), we can be easily caught in a devastating cycle of trickling news feeding our anxious thoughts, triggering […]
Until my teenage years, I lived primarily in rural communities, where my dad was a pastor in small country churches. These were sparsely populated areas by urban and suburban standards, with the closest neighbors usually living 1/2 to 1 mile apart. But there was no question these places were communities, much more so than any […]
In April of last year, 276 female students were kidnapped during the night, taken from a secondary school in Northeastern Nigeria. The girls were 16 to 18 years old, and they were at the school to take final exams in physics so they could complete their final year of school. The school had been closed […]
Last week my family saw Mockingjay, the latest movie in The Hunger Games series based on the young adult novels written by Suzanne Collins. On their surface these stories of a future world, where excess and oppression reigns, are about conflict, power, and struggle. But at their essence they’re stories about hope and human survival. […]
As a new year begins, what are you hoping for, resolving to accomplish? Losing weight? Eating better? Living simply or saving money or finding a new job or a new relationship? Spending more time with your family? A happier year? A healthier one? Whatever it is, I’m guessing you’ve tried for it before. And I […]
I saw the headline: another adult arrested for child sexual abuse. Another headline that made my stomach constrict dangerously. Then I saw the picture. And the room spun. I looked back at the headline, just so I wouldn’t have to look at the picture anymore. I didn’t know how to process the shock: someone I […]
© 2014 Amy Simpson.