MayCember: Please Take a Rest!
Somewhere along the way, May stopped being a gentle bridge into summer. Now it seems that calendars overflow, deadlines...
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Called to Care: Reflections on Mother’s Day
At its core, Mother’s Day invites us to pause and reflect on the sacred nature of care. For many, it is a day filled with...
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Cognitive Dissonance and Personal Disconnection
There are moments when something feels off within us, even if we can’t immediately name it. We move through our days, fulfilling...
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Lessons in Cinema: The Gift of Rest, the Rise of AI, and the Foundation of Belief
I love going to the movies—and I’ll admit, I don’t indulge in this simple joy nearly enough. There is something sacred about...
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The Anxious Presence and the Gift of Peace and Being Called by Name
Over the past week, I was given the gift of retreat—time set apart with clergy who deeply value rest and renewal, learning in...
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Palm Sunday: The Truth We Don’t Want to Hold
The past few years have disrupted our sense of self and what it means to live in community in ways I don’t think we’ve fully...
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Playing Pretend: Reframing the Everyday in these dry bones
There are days when life feels like a quiet performance. We show up, say the right things, move through the motions—smiling when...
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Living in the Light in a Complicated Season
There are seasons in history that simply feel simpler in hindsight. And then there are inherited seasons – layered with...
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Reflections on Purim Through a Lenten Lens
Lent is a season of stripping away—of illusion, certainty, and self-protection. It is a time when Christians sit honestly with...
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FindiFinding Ourselves in the Wildernessng Ourselves in the Wilderness
Reflections on Matthew 4:1–11
Lent begins, not with certainty, but with wilderness.
Before Jesus teaches, heals, or...
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At the Well: Resisting the Culture of Othering
A Lenten Reflection on John 4:5–42
This week’s Lenten Gospel lesson found in John 4:5–42 in a stark reminder that...
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Ash Wednesday: The Courage to Look Within
Today’s reflection arrives at a meaningful threshold. Today marks the 100th Chrysalis Constant Contact posting—a quiet milestone...
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Life Is Not Always What We Planned…
Life is not always what we plan – this is a mantra and life wisdom which has proven to be true in my life again and again! In...
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When Plans Change
Most of us are planners—whether we admit it or not. We sketch out timelines, set intentions, imagine how the story will unfold....
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Finding Our Collective Voice
In recent weeks and months, the steady stream of headlines has felt relentless and left us breathless. Communities fractured by...
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The Value–Action Gap
This past week, I had the privilege of spending time with a group of clergy from across the United States—TX, AZ, CA, NY, FL,...
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Keeping the Soul Ajar
There is a difference between leaving the metaphoric door wide open and keeping it ajar. An open door can feel exposed,...
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Life Is Not Always What We Planned…
Life is not always what we plan – this is a mantra and life wisdom which has proven to be true in my life again and again! In...
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It’s a Wrap! – 2025 Year in Review
As 2025 comes to a close, we pause to reflect with deep gratitude on a year shaped by rest, renewal, and faithful presence. At...
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’Tis the Season!
Lessons in Gratitude for a New Year
’Tis the season—of lists and lights, endings and beginnings. A season when the calendar...
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Advent 4
For the next several weeks, we welcome guest writers from the Chrysalis Board of Directors as they share their thoughts and...
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Advent 3: Patience…
For the next several weeks, we welcome guest writers from the Chrysalis Board of Directors as they share their thoughts and...
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Advent Devotional
I love the season of Advent in the church.
The sanctuary draped in deep purple (or blue) paraments. Fresh greenery...
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Season of Advent: Week One — Hope, Waiting, and Finding Ourselves
The Season of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year—a four-week journey that leads us to Christmas. The word Advent...
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Taking a Collective Breath in a Season of Thanksgiving
As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, many of us feel a familiar mixture of anticipation and saturation. This time of year,...
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Saturation Point
There comes a moment—sometimes quietly, sometimes all at once—when we realize we’ve reached our saturation point. It’s that...
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The Danger in Filling in the Gaps
As humans, we are wired to be meaning-making creatures. When we encounter something we don’t understand—a silence, a delay, an...
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The Significance of Remembrance and Ritual: Halloween, Día de los Muertos, and All Saints Sunday
I have a handful of bucket list items that I slowly plan and experience as the years move forward. One anticipated experience...
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“Grief is Love With No Place to Go”
In the changing of the seasons from summer to fall and from fall to winter, I am intimately reminded of the seasons and changes...
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Shoshin: You Cannot Do a New Thing While Constantly Defending the Old Thing
I recently learned of a Zen Buddhism concept known as shoshin: the beginner’s mind. It is the state of openness, curiosity, and...
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“I Like Boring Things”
Artist and creator Andy Warhol once famously said, “I like boring things.” At first glance, this may sound odd coming...
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My Soul Needs a Rest
There are seasons when our calendars, commitments, news cycles, and head space run ahead of us, leaving our bodies weary and our...
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Finding Center in a New Season
The change of seasons rarely arrives quietly. It sweeps in with a flurry of uncertainty and excitement—new roles, shifting...
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The Quiet Art of Witnessing When the World Seems So Loud
There are days when the noise of the world feels relentless—news cycles that churn, notifications that buzz, a culture that...
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Beloved
“And did you get what you wanted from this life?”I did.And what did you want?To call myself beloved, to feel myself Beloved on...
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988 Day: “You Are Not Alone”
As a mental health professional and one who believes deeply in services for all, ‘988 Day’ is not just a day but a day I feel is...
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Letting Go: The Spirit and Ritual of Zozobra
Every September, approximately 65,000 people gather in Santa Fe to watch Old Man Gloom go up in flames. Zozobra—a 50-foot...
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Presence Over Perfection
For years, I worked diligently to be perfect – the perfect employee; the perfect pastor; the perfect therapist; the perfect...
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Waymarking and the Art of Waymaking
Long before GPS and step-counting apps, travelers relied on waymarks to guide them along unknown roads —simple stones, painted...
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My Summer Tech Detox: Lessons Learned
This summer, I did a thing.
I unplugged.
Not entirely, and not forever—but enough to feel it. Enough to notice how...
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Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Space for Both, but Not Always
I have recently been giving a great deal of thought and consideration to the application and understanding of Forgiveness and...
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Collective Effervescence and the Need for Community
There’s a sacred energy that fills the air when we gather—when voices rise in song, when laughter echoes at shared tables, when...
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Joy Comes in the Morning…not happiness
For many years, I used the descriptors of Happiness and Joy interchangeably, as if each held the same weight as the other. But,...
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The Secular and the Sacred
During the benediction on my last Sunday in pulpit ministry, I said to the congregation that there’s a good chance that one day,...
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Living a Faithful and Patriotic Life
As I sat watching fireworks from the safety of my home on July 4th, reflecting on the week’s headlines, I found myself thinking...
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Leaving Church, Entering the Wilderness
For your reading pleasure this week, we have invited Mary Ward to share one of her writings from her new blog, The Progressive...
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What Keeps You Up at Night?
I know when my mind is running at full-steam ahead and I find myself having to carry a small notebook with me, not to mention...
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Where Does It Hurt?
We’ve all heard the phrase: “Hurt people hurt people.” It’s often spoken with a sigh, an attempt to make sense of...
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Settling for Resurrection and Forgetting to Ascend
Our image this week is my favorite piece of resurrection stained glass. This piece can be found at The Episcopal Cathedral...
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The Butterfly Effect: Celebrating 5 Years of Chrysalis Counseling For Clergy!
This week, Chrysalis Counseling for Clergy 501(c)3 turns five. What began as a DMIN dissertation dream, has grown into a...
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The Fire That Connects
Every October, the skies over Albuquerque, New Mexico, come alive with color as hundreds of hot air balloons from across the...
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Tell Me about your North Star
We all have something—or someone—that helps us navigate the chaos. A voice we return to when the noise is too loud. A truth that...
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Mother’s Day: A Day of Remembrance
Later today – if all goes well – I will emerge from my weekly Sunday nap and remember to call my mother, and I will...
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Emotional Imprints: Celebrating Life and Saying Goodbye
The image you see is of myself and a magical man taken just a few years ago. This is Jim and he is my dearest friend’s father...
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All Things Borrowed…
It was recently pointed out to me, that all things having to do with Jesus and his entry into the city on that blessed day that...
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Friendships and the Sunrise: Light for Today’s World
On Easter morning, I had the great pleasure of standing and serving communion with a dear friend and colleague. You see, my...
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Asking the Right Question: What is The Why?
In a world that moves faster every day, we are constantly bombarded with decisions, distractions, and demands. It’s easy to fall...
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May: A Month of Expectations, Hope, and Celebrations!
There’s something about May that stirs my soul – In my home, we celebrate May Day, my daughter’s birthday (16th this year!), my...
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To Celebrate or to Sit?
Have you ever been privy to a conversation or message where you can literally only remember one phrase or comment shared? I had...
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How Does Your Garden Grow: The Tale of the Fig Tree
There is something magical about this time of year. It’s the time where you see and hear your neighbors in their yards cleaning...
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Lamentation: What Do You Lament?
I am a big fan of stained glass – specifically stained glass that is used to enhance worship spaces in cathedrals and...
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Living in the Wilderness: A Desert of Life or a Desert of Despair
The climate where I live in Albuquerque New Mexico is referred to as High Desert Climate. The high desert climate is...
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Seasons: Ashes and Lent
It’s that time of year in the rhythm and ritual of the Christian Calander– 40-days; not counting Sunday’s – in which we...
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The Importance of Marking Time: Grief, Anniversaries, and Ritual
One year ago, in accordance and affirmed by the United Methodist Church Book of Discipline, I began a 4-month Renewal Leave...
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Lessons from the Beatitudes
This morning in church, the pastor spoke about the beauty and relevance in today’s world of the Beatitudes – which...
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Performative Activism and the Faith Community: Whose Voice Are You Giving a Voice To?
This week, I was confronted by a dear friend with the term Performative Activism. This friend of mine – who does not claim...
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The Sacred Power of Creative Resistance
For many reasons, this past week has been a painfully challenging week for me. In seeking consult and comfort throughout the...
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Collectivist vs. Individualist: Respecting One Another
I see myself as a curious observer to the human experience. I have always found a great deal of satisfaction simply sitting and...
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The Art of Balance: Functioning Vs. Performing
Last week, I was sitting in my therapy room with a client who spoke candidly about their habit of over-functioning and their...
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The Holiness of No – A Practice in Self-Care
I was reminded this past week of a time I never said No – No to attending a meeting, No to attending a conference, No to...
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It’s a Wrap! Year-End Review
As we close out another impactful year, it’s incredible to see how far Chrysalis has come since its inception in 2019. What...
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What’s My Vision?
For the past three years, just as the year is ending a new year is on the horizon, my daughter and I have made a trip to the...
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Emmanuel: “God With Us”
The Fourth Sunday of Advent is a time of profound reflection and anticipation. As we light the fourth candle, our hearts turn to...
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Finding Joy in the Darkness
I would like to take a moment of personal privilege to say Happy Birthday to all December birthday babies! Being a December...
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Ablation of the Soul: Creating Peace
Before worship began this morning, I found myself looking around the sanctuary and thinking, “There is just something about this...
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The Gift of Giving
#GivingTuesday Reflection
The season of Advent is here—a time when we light the first candle of the Advent wreath and lean...
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Keeping True to Self: Being Intentional During the Holiday Season
So often during the holiday season, I find myself so lost in the call to be with others and to fill their cup, that I forget to...
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Do you have 8 Minutes to Spare?
Recently, a friend shared a YouTube video featuring leadership speaker and author, Simon Sinek. The topic was about being...
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Ouvrons grand les Jeux: Games Wide Open!
Once every four-years, something a bit whimsical and nostalgic happens, and unless you are freeof all media and are perhaps...
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Shame: The Swampland of the Soul
I am a big fan of taking a night and going to the movies. I love the entire process of purchasing the perfectseat, overpriced...
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Thin Spaces
In the fall of 2019, I had the privilege of participating in a retreat for mental health and spiritualcare providers focused...
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It Is What It Is
I am excited to announce that last week, I was on a real vacation! What I mean by a realvacation is this – this particular...
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Americana
Growing up, my extended family would gather in a New Mexico ski resort town every year forthe 4 th of July holiday. This sleepy...
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Lessons From Landscapes
A month or so ago, my spring travels found me in Pittsburgh, PA. I was attending the Festival ofHomiletics as both an...
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Living Into the Golden Rule
When my daughter was in 3 rd -5 th grades, she participated in our local Junior Derby League on ateam called the Marionettes....
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Passing The Torch
This is my absolute favorite photo of my ordination. The photo itself is from the local townnewspaper where I was ordained. The...
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The Litmus Test
I remember the morning well…It was mid-February and to say I had a lot going on in my life both personally and...
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In Memory
I was once told that memories sit in a variety of ways – some sit softy, some violently, and somein a much more neutral way. In...
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The Gift of Exploration
My first trip abroad took place in 1997. I was in my fourth year at the University of New Mexicoand my dear friend Alison was...
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Tis the Season to Celebrate
It was May 19 th , 2020 when I found myself putting on my robe with my newly earned stripes(three on each sleeve to be exact),...
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Its Mental Health Awareness Month–Now What?
Navigating Clergy Mental Health: Insights for Mental Health Awareness MonthAs we delve into Mental Health Awareness Month this...
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How We Gather
For the past week, I have found myself serving the United Methodist Church’s GeneralConference as a Page. A Page, in this...
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How Does Your Garden Grow
In my romanticized version of spring, I take myself as an urban gardener – not farmer, but agardener. And I say romanticized...
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Free Moon Pies!
Last Monday, I had the opportunity to view the eclipse in Dallas, TX with a group of clergyleaders from various parts of the...
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A Note of Retreat
In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, particularly in professions demanding emotional andspiritual care like clergy,...
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Tell Me a Story
Dear Chrysalis Friends,As we find ourselves winding down from the hustle and bustle of our most sacredseasons, I wanted to take...
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Ultimate? Penultimate? Antepenultimate?
I remember in my Greek class in seminary a discussion of terms related to what we might call “the end.” Of course...
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Chrysalis – The Humble Beginnings
In January 2020, I defended my dissertation for my Doctorate in Ministry with Claremont School of Theology focusing on...
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Feeling The Darkness – Finding The Light In Ministry
I was recently asked about my thoughts on the phrases:
“Hurt people, Hurt people” and “Silent people kill churches.”
It...
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Re-Ordering the Photo Frame
As I was walking down the photo frame aisle trying to pick the perfect frame in which to highlight my daughter’s recent drill...
Learn MoreDiscernment by Nausea in a Season of Remembrance
I recently heard the phrase, Discernment By Nausea and I was immediately drawn to it. Perhaps it is because of the...
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Movement & Vision
As 2023 comes to a close and 2024 peaks it’s head around the corner, we find ourselves in a place of reflection, remembrance,...
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An Advent of Change
Henri Nouwen once wrote, “…to pray is to change” and then he asked, “Why would you want todo that?” Nouwen named what we all...
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How Much Light?
The Christmas tree glows in the corner complete with a tree topper star that projectssnowflakes onto the ceiling. Meanwhile the...
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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…Maybe
The Christmas season has always been a mixed bag for me. Even as a young child and the child of a female pastor in the 1980’s, I...
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Gauges
If I’m honest I really only look at two gauges on the dashboard of my truck. I watch myspeedometer and I check my gas gauge. I...
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Faith and Ministry
One of the issues that can exist for pastors is the blurring of the delicate line between faith in God and loyalty to the...
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When the Bottom Drops Out
At Chrysalis Counseling for Clergy we acknowledge how difficult ministry can be. The demands placed upon pastors and...
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Freedom
July 4, 2023
Happy Independence Day! Perhaps no word resonates with the American democratic experiment than...
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Transitions & a Cup of Coffee
I am a big fan of coffee – church coffee, boutique coffee, Starbucks. It does not completely matter to me if my coffee...
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Moving through the Lenten season draws us near to Easter and the story of the resurrection. On one level, this is joyful...
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Lessons from an aspiring Minimalist
I have a bi-annual tradition that focuses on a clearing of the clutter. This is a time where I literally go through every drawer...
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