every precious second

On this day last year, I was in the middle of putting up Christmas lights when my mom told me she had cancer. Despite all her assurances and the nonchalant way that she broke the news to me, I was shaken by the news. I remember looking out the window at the Christmas lights I had…

hidden heroes

Last weekend, my husband and I came to visit my parents for Mother's Day. We were having breakfast on Sunday morning, the sunlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my parents' condo in Vancouver, my mom bustling happily to and fro in her house coat, a bright little bandanna covering her head. "So your…

the treasures we hold

Today I took my guitar to the music store to get its truss rod adjusted. I was directed to a young man named Joel who, as it turns out, was celebrating a birthday today.  "Happy birthday, Joel!" I said cheerfully. I casually unzipped my soft case and started to uncover my 9-year-old Fender Malibu. Suddenly,…

more than singing

I'm currently at a conference in San Diego put together by the fine folks at the Institute of Vocal Advancement (IVA). Every year, IVA vocal instructors such as myself gather from all over the world to learn more about the craft of singing and the highly nuanced art of teaching vocal technique. We're basically kept…

no idea where I am going

I've been a busy bee these last few weeks. For a couple of weeks in March, I helped prepare a young trio from a local church to sing the extremely long and challenging Exsultet chant at their upcoming Easter Vigil Mass. Last Saturday, I gave a retreat at my old parish in Vancouver, totaling 4.5…

fruitful emptiness: a piece of the puzzle

Some experiences in life are so deeply impactful that they feel as though they become your entire identity. A child, unable to refrain from making mistakes and breaking rules in class, is eventually labeled a Bad Student. A young girl, starved for love and seeking attention in the wrong places, becomes known as a Slut.…

fruitful emptiness: fearless love

My husband and I were driving to the store one weekend when I broke the news to him that our friends are pregnant with their second baby. "Yeah, I heard," he said, not taking his eyes off the road. "I'm happy for them," he said. I searched his face for some sign of emotion, anything…

seven lessons with Irina

Today, I want to tell you about my good friend Irina. I know Irina and her mom from church. They are both very involved, each of them volunteering in multiple ministries. They are both beloved members of our community. Irina has an unspecified developmental disability. She was adopted by her parents Rick and Elizabeth at the…

fruitful emptiness: 20 seconds

This is a story about a 20-second video. I promise this story isn't all sad, but it started in deep sadness. After going through months of physical exams, lab tests, blood draws, diagnoses, pills, hot flashes, mood swings, breakouts, and of course, medical bills, it turns out that none of the hard work had paid off.…

song blog: till i love

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Since we're celebrating love today, I thought I would share a rough take of a little song I wrote called "Till I Love". I'm still figuring out how to DIY these recordings, so I hope you'll bear with me while I'm getting better at it. Enjoy! Till I Love © 2016…