Mirrors are for reflecting back our outer self as we make adjustments.

Mirrors are for reflecting back our outer self as we make adjustments. What mirror do you have for your inner self that helps you make adjustments?⁣⁣Sometimes we see ourselves in shows and movies and learn something that improves our lives. Sometimes we are more intentional with our inner life so we seek out books and […]

And just like that, the sun has set on my seventeenth year of living in New York City. ⁣

As I think of myself seventeen and eighteen years ago, I remember how hard it was to decide to leave what I had and move halfway across the country. I had a tight-knit community of friends in Minnesota, affectionately called our “Urban Tribe.” I enjoyed my youth ministry team and could have easily continued to […]

Isn’t it funny the things we end up missing because of the Coronavirus?

Isn’t it funny the things we end up missing because of the Coronavirus? What is one thing you took for granted and now miss?⁣⁣⁣⁣Here’s mine: I love to run into people when I didn’t expect it. I love it so much that I’d list it as one of my “favorite things” when the situation called […]

Onward with our “Would-Have-Beens.”

Ah, that “would have been” life. This would have been the opening night of my next (9th? 10th?) production of “Church Basement Ladies.” ⁣⁣We all have a few “would have beens” right now. What are yours? ⁣⁣Celebrate them. Mourn them. Maybe recreate a part of them. Perhaps I’ll fling a few peanuts through the air […]

Ask for help.

How do you ask for help when you need it? Or do you even ask? I’m headed back to the “Church Basement” next month. We haven’t done this particular “episode” of the series in 5 years, which means that this month is about memorizing. And asking people to help me memorize. I was talking with […]

Start living your story. Even if it’s awkward.

Last night, we celebrated storytelling in America. ⁣⁣Our main shared cultural story vehicle is film, and the Oscars are the most highly-acclaimed award associated with that storytelling.⁣⁣Stories are how we learn empathy. Stories are the conveyor of shared cultural values. Stories are the way our brains are wired to retain information. (They worked pretty well […]

All hail Black Friday

All hail Black Friday, the day we finally all agree that it’s OK to play holiday music in public spaces. The controversy ends today. ⁣ Are you in the “Start Christmas early” camp or on Team “wait until Thanksgiving?” Tell me in the comments!⁣This may be your busiest time of the year, which is why […]

How are your old stories holding you back?

I’ve been knee deep in editing Season Two of “A Dairy Tale,” a web series I co-created with my friend Joe.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣Editing is near the end of a long process in which we discuss possible story lines, secure shooting locations and actors, create scenes based on the resources we have, and then improvise a number of […]

Sunflowers and your right to be heard.

Earlier this week, my mom and I learned that sunflowers were once the symbol of womens’ fight to be heard in public. ⁣⁣These particular sunflowers are located in upstate New York, near the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the writer and idea-generator behind the women’s movement and organizer of the first Women’s Rights convention in […]

Mrs. Maisel

Mrs. Maisel. She’s not just a bunch of pretty dress designs. She’s also learning to design a life.⁣⁣This week I worked in a crowd scene being filmed for season 3 of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and then attended the opening weekend of a Mrs. Maisel exhibit at the Paley Center. Both experiences were an immersion […]