Category: The Valley
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2024 Recap
It was a blustery Upland February in 2018. Little college-freshman Cali sat in the padded dorm chair of Bergwall Hall desperate to process everything that had just happened on a life-changing study abroad excursion throughout the entire land of Israel. The result was a blog. That blog became a storehouse…
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Redeeming Moments
Christmas has come and gone in a whirlwind of candlelight services, peanut butter kiss cookies, and sweet together time as a family. While it was technically our second Christmas without Mom, in some ways it felt like the first. Many times, we would reflect on last year and say things…
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Light of Christ
I’m that type — the Christmas tree is up. Like many women, I married a “no Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving” kind of guy. But also like many women, I just got too eager. Took a personal day to get some nesting done and next thing I knew, the tree…
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Ode to My Mama
Mom,I can’t believe this week marks one year since you went home.I still resist the desperate urge to call you on the phone.Except we both know I’d never actually call,because you hated phone calls more than anything at all.“If it can’t be texted, it can wait!” you would say.And I…
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6:00 AM on Election Day
It was another tight-lipped election day in the land of the free and home of the brave. “I Voted” stickers littered lobbies like confetti while we longed for the day to be over already. We waded through puddles that November rain poured — a metaphor. Representative of our nation, I’m…
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Days of Awe
Ever since I first started trying to write consistently, there’s been a trend: almost zero words are produced from the end of September to the end of October. It’s never a deliberate decision, just a gradual ramification of the brain fog that comes with the longest stretch of the school…
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Doom Scrolling and Canvas Painting
Disclaimer: this is an adapted version of a previous blog post written on my no-longer-active former site. It is a wimpy attempt at the “new era of blogging, baby.” Sorry if you’ve read it already – I promise it’s been tweaked. I seldom find myself more insecure than the moments…
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The Newells
We got to share a meal last night with the Newells — a measly attempt at expressing our gratitude through Italian House lasagna — and it felt like a family reunion. The sweetest gathering of trauma-bonded souls with an eternal-lasting friendship. They’re a radiant picture of God’s perfect provision when…
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Faithfulness Journal
My last post ended with the phrase, “It’s a new era of blogging, baby.” Which, I suppose, means I should do something different than I’ve done before. I don’t want to stay stuck in suffering — to have my sole identity be “the sad girl with the hard life” because…
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The Ascent
Prior to my past two weeks of writing, it had been over a month since I posted last. Part of that was due to the ever-chaotic start of school coupled with swim lessons and doctor’s appointments and sleeping more than ever. But part of my reason for not writing is…
House on the Rock 