Have you ever wanted to have a different name than the one your parents gave you? At times as a kid, I remember not really liking my name Amanda. It just sounded so…straightforward and official, and just a little boring. I experimented with all sorts of names, and after a while I decided that the [...]
We talk a lot about asking specific questions of specific people in heaven. David, what was it like to face Goliath? Eve, what was it like to live in the garden of Eden? Noah, how bad did it smell on the ark? Martha, what was it like to see Lazarus alive again? It's the [...]
The water bottle always goes into the left cup holder. The sweat towel always goes on the right hand side. The speed and incline buttons are accessible, ready to spin the belt speed and incline up or down depending on the desired settings. These indicators tell my brain and body: it’s time for another HIIT [...]
If Peter had tried to walk on water by himself at any point, he would have sunk to the lowest depths every time. The only things he would have gained from that adventure would have been wet clothes or a swimming lesson. Let’s look closer at Peter’s point of decision: “But when the disciples saw [...]
The blue and yellow sticker on the MacBook Pro across the coffee shop. The tiny elephant tattoo perched on an ankle at a neighboring table. Spectacles and scarf. The Catcher in the Rye. Journal. Latte. Laptop. And then there's the realization that I noticed the laptop's return, time after time, not the person holding it. [...]
Lines. Queues. Even in an era of two-day shipping, curbside pickup, and porch delivery, we still find ourselves waiting in the necessary line more often than we would like, don't we? Here's one small change you can make the next time you find yourself waiting in line: As you work toward the register, start praying [...]
Have you ever wondered how to tell the difference between an introverted programmer and an extroverted programmer? They say that an introverted programmer stares at their shoes while they talk. But an extroverted one stares at your shoes when they talk to you. buh-dum-chhh Joking aside, though, the best indicator between introverts and extroverts [...]
Any chance you are afraid? Any chance you have had a wave of fear wash over you this morning, this week? Any chance you've been thinking about your loved ones, the high risk, the exposed a bit more than usual? Any chance you're a caregiver or essential worker just tired of it all? Or is [...]
In no particular order, here are the best books I read this year in Mandy-determined categories: Best History Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard Best Memoir Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri Best Fiction Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry Runner Up Gilead by [...]
The magi recorded in Matthew 2 brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus. These wise men set all of Jerusalem abuzz with their inquiry: "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2). When they [...]
