By the time Sunday arrived I didn’t feel like being around people, let alone going anywhere. We turned on YouTube and scrolled through some church services but ended up turning them off. The services just hit different this year.

Hello and Welcome to Spring! It seems weird talking about spring when winter in the high country of Arizona has been mild. That might hit a nerve for some of you, especially my friends to the east who have experienced quite a winter.

This last Christmas the girls in my family decided to do a Favorite Things gift exchange. If you’re not familiar with what this entails, check out Oprah’s shows circa late 1990’s when she began handing out her favorite things to the audience. (Oh to have been in one of those audiences…)

I decided to practice Advent this year, not just receive devotional emails each day, but light the candles and really dig into the significance of each week’s theme. Hope was the theme word for the first week.

Until it wasn’t. About 18 months ago, I went back to school. Spiritual Direction School. I have loved every minute of it. It’s been challenging. It’s been engaging. It’s been life-long relationship building with my cohort of fellow students. It’s been a wonderful experience. In March, I will receive my certificate and officially be a spiritual director. I can’t wait!