Posts by Ashley Thornton
Some advice for improving your mental health game
by Dr. Emma Wood We live in a culture that values productivity over health, outward validation above personal contentment, the bottom line (usually money) over the complex and at times painful beauty of being human. Within this culture, physical health is acknowledged as legitimate while mental health seems to be considered a “personal problem” or…
Read MoreIn the kitchen with kids: They’re learning more than just cooking
By Meilana Charles In April, Prairie View A&M University-Cooperative Extension Program’s “Dine on 3,” healthy living social media initiative focused on cooking with kids. In my previous career as an early childhood professional I enjoyed preparing and cooking in the classroom with students. Taste tests, pumpkin carvings at the sensory table, creating salads from fruits…
Read MoreHome and Hope: Conversations at Church about Including LGBTQ People
By Curtis Cannon There were so many people, many more than I had anticipated, all gathered in the Church sanctuary that first Wednesday. I’m not a member of this particular faith community, but I was thrilled about the topic they would be considering and discussing during the month’s Wednesday gatherings. The program series was about…
Read MoreEaster with Emily
By Tansy Ackermann I met Emily “Blank” Merton in person the night of Friday, March 11th. (She doesn’t have a middle name: I love to give her a hard time about that.) She arrived on a big yellow school bus, straight from DFW, in the Waco High School parking lot along with 20 other exhausted…
Read More“Project Link has Impacted my Life Big Time!”
By Daniela Lopez and Ashley Renee Whitlock According to the Project Link website, “Project Link is a new local program that started in Fall 2015 to help Waco-area high school students, currently at La Vega High School and University High School, and their families in charting a more assured and successful post-secondary journey through intense one-on-one…
Read MoreA Place for Dialogue: The Multi-faceted Role of Museums in Community
By Trey Crumpton WARNING: I use the term dialogue a lot in this article. So, if you don’t like dialogue, end your pain now and stop reading. For the next four years, we will tackle a complete renovation of the Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery Center, part of the Mayborn Museum Complex at Baylor. It’s…
Read MoreLearning about Anti-Hunger Work in Waco…and all that Jazz
by Craig Nash The author Donald Miller, (before I turned on him for becoming a shade too respectable,) opens his memoir Blue Like Jazz with this: I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn’t resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man playing the saxophone.…
Read MoreSustainable Waco is Already Here!
by Lucas Land When you hear the word “sustainable”, what’s the first city you think of? Portland? Austin? Somewhere in California? Why not Waco? While Austin installs a food forest and San Diego commits to move to 100% renewable energy by 2025, it feels like Waco is always playing catch up to other cities. We…
Read MoreThe Inside Scoop on Steppin’ Out
By Macy Warburton If you were out and about in Waco this past weekend, you may have seen large numbers of Baylor students in the community sporting tools and paint brushes. What was happening, you ask? Steppin’ Out – a day of service Baylor students participate in each semester. Led and organized by the Steppin’…
Read MoreCreating Wellness – a collaboration of art and healing
By Jenuine Poetess I have the immense joy of working with a professional colleague who is not only a gifted mental health clinician, but also a talented artist—across a number of disciplines. As I joined Enrichment Training and Counseling Solutions we moved into a new suite of offices–a space which has afforded the creation of…
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