• Christian Living

    Why #MercyMe is the Most Influential Band in My Life

    It’s funny how our senses imprint memories subconsciously.  A certain sound, smell, or feeling can come flooding back without our knowledge.  Deja Vous?  Maybe, but for me, my MercyMe journey started in 1999.  I was a first year English teacher at Greenville High School in Greenville, TX.  I did have family close, but I was living completely on my own for the first time, navigating a new job, a new town, a new church, and new independence (coupled with some loneliness and bouts of depression).  I had never heard the name Bart Millard before, but it wasn’t long before I was being given MercyMe CDs.  These were independently produced albums…

  • Christian Living

    Breathe of Life

    The term “one of those days” doesn’t fit really.  It hasn’t fit for 18 months now.  In any case, I was more stressed than I’ve ever been, in ways I couldn’t quite identify.  Our school district had announced that this school year would be “mask optional” only to reverse the decision 48 hours before opening day. Some people were angry, some happy, but a general feeling of discomfort was pervasive. It was as if we were waiting for the next last minute change to drop.  Sure.  As teachers, we were ready for whatever came, ready to engage young minds despite the subpar morale, but that didn’t change the fact that…