i had a typically schizophrenic week–running from deep conversations at the refuge to driving carpools, from 8 degree weather in colorado to 72 degrees in so. cal to share at a gathering of missional leaders, from paying the bills to talking to social workers to working on faith shift edits. on friday afternoon, i finished […]
Read Moreone image
* this post is part of the january synchroblog, which is centered on new beginnings. i have loved partaking in the practice of “one word” for the past few years; even though i am one of those people who starts out strong and loses steam by about april, i appreciate the intention and love hearing other […]
Read More5 false things the church often teaches us about healing
i have a theory about healing: most of us need it, a lot of us want it, and many of our church experiences have taught us some things that make it harder to get. this makes me sad, mainly because church is supposed to be a place of healing, the safest place on earth to […]
Read Morea decade?
happy new year! i’ve been sick this week, but i realized earlier this week that today marks my 10 year anniversary of entering into full-time-vocational “ministry.” a decade, that’s wild. i told jose that and he laughed and said “it feels like 100, especially those first couple of years!” honestly, our marriage took a beating […]
Read Morethe spiritual practice of showing up & telling the truth
wikipedia defines a spiritual practice as “the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of cultivating spiritual development.” my working definition of a spiritual practice is “an action or process or intention that opens up our soul and challenges, heals, and transforms us.” june’s synchroblog is today & the topic […]
Read Moreoh yes, you are an artist!
when we were in kindergarten and someone asked the class, “how many of you are artists?” my guess is every hand would shoot up. ask a group of grownups the same question, and we’re lucky if there one or two cautiously put up their hands. what is wrong with this picture? what happened to us? […]
Read Moreeveryone's fighting some kind of battle.
a few weeks ago a dear friend from high school posted this picture of me on facebook. i’m totally embarrassed to share it here, but i thought i’d be brave to make a point. yes, i was the basketball homecoming queen my senior year of high school. don’t hold it against me. and yes, homecoming […]
Read Morecorrective experiences
“you’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. we’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. if i make you light-bearers, you don’t think i’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? i’m putting you on […]
Read Moreaffiliation, certainty & conformity to freedom, diversity & mystery
i am in the thick of it writing the first manuscript of faith shift: hope for spiritual refugees, church burnouts and freedom seekers. i’ve had all 5 kids at home, all kinds of never-ending refuge craziness, on top of may being the busiest month of the year. of course i waste time i don’t have asking […]
Read Morewhat seems to help in the midst of pain
“when we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. the friend who can be silent with us […]
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