I grew up in a military household decked out year-round with Americana. USA patriotism pervaded my house growing up. I was (and still am) proud of my dad’s service to the country and extremely proud to be an American. However, presently, I live in a world of academics in the humanities who don’t have a …
Continue reading Happy Semiquincentennial to the United States of America: Gratitude for Our Nation
2026 started off pretty rough for me. My season of isolation, brought on by living on my own and struggling to find a sustained, committed community over the first year and a half of my PhD program, compounded into an emotional knot that was difficult to work through. Couple that with feeling defeated and despondent …
“Blessed is the man whom You discipline, Lord, And whom You teach from Your Law” -Psalm 94:12 2025 has been a heavy year emotionally and spiritually. I’ve wrestled with moments of doubt. I’ve experienced bouts of deep, painful loneliness that affect my attitude about my prolonged singleness and how isolating it is to try living …
Continue reading Thanksgiving Post 2025: Gratitude for Challenge
Life has been incredibly busy lately, so I have not had much time for the blog—or writing in general—but today’s post is something that’s been on my mind for a while. It’s a list of books I would encourage every Christian to read, as they speak into many cultural issues we are facing as a …
I wait intently upon the Lord, knowing He has heard my cry for help, help in the midst of a season of loneliness, of striving and feeling stuck, a cry for help waging war against my own sin, my own lack of gratitude, my own blindness to the goodness of the God I cry out …
Continue reading The 2025 Easter Post: A Prayer Through Psalm 40
After years of putting it off, I finally achieved a long-time goal of mind: read through the Kings & Prophets of the Old Testament chronologically. It took me all of 2024 and was such a sweet, rewarding way to engage with Scripture last year. So, I wanted to share some of the main insights and …
Earlier this Fall, my brother and I checked off a bucket list item: going to our first Imagine Dragons concert. We road-tripped out to middle-of-nowhere Missouri with a plan for my brother to drive us through the night so I could make it back home in time to teach my 8am class the next morning. …
As a Christian, I’m wired to view things through the lens of the Gospel. Every book I read, every movie I watch, whatever content I engage with, I’m looking for the redemptive qualities—the Gospel Truths I believe—reflected in media. So it’s only natural that I do the same with video games, including one of my …
The final piece I need to confess regarding my writing: I have not worshiped the Lord through my writing in recent months, at least not often. This is the product of both pursuing the Kingdom of Self as well as idolizing publication as the end goal. I’m burning out on projects quickly. I’m only writing …
Continue reading A Christian Writer’s Confession, Part 3: Worship and Delight
I am a very self-driven, Type-A person. I do very little that isn’t practical. And right now, it’s choking my writing. Now, I believe Scripture is very clear that we are not to be lazy people and should work diligently, as unto the Lord, while also balancing that with our need for Sabbath rest. What …
Continue reading A Christian Writer’s Confession, Part 2: Productivity or Stewarding Talents
By Madelynn Orion 