God is close to the brokenhearted – psalm 34:18 the tragedy in connecticut has ripped apart our hearts. i am so sad & overwhelmed with the magnitude of this reality. when i kissed the twins goodnight last night after they were already asleep i just started bawling, imagining those precious parents and never kissing their babies […]
Read Morethe christmas story, friendship, and our crazy notions about neat & tidy.
* today is the december synchroblog. the topic is advent: tell me a story, places where we see God’s love & hope & peace & joy in the midst. i didn’t really write this post for the synchroblog, but the more i thought about it, the more it does fit. it’s the crazy unexpected story […]
Read Morewhen christmas is hard: "help"
“o God, listen to my cry! hear my prayer! from the ends of the earth, i cry to you for help. when my heart is overwhelmed. lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge” – psalm 61:1-3, NLT sometimes when i write about how hard life is here at the refuge, i wonder […]
Read Morecollaboration on behalf of dignity.
last night our dear friends kevin & linsey potter from oasis usa hosted a screening of the documentary, a handful of dreams–the truth about begging, followed by questions & responses to the issue of human trafficking and how we can make a difference here, now. the film centers on a coordinated raid in bangalore, india, […]
Read Morewhen christmas is hard.
i like christmas. i am not crazy about the commercialism and try to avoid stores at all costs starting from thanksgiving on, but i do love the season. i love the story of Jesus because of its upside-downness & the wild and wacky ways he entered into the world as God-in-the-flesh. i love the intentional […]
Read More10 things we can do (not just pray about) to help eliminate abortions.
“dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? for instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “good morning, friend! be clothed in Christ! […]
Read Moreformation friday: hunger
“man does not live by bread alone.” luke 4:4 it’s the day after thanksgiving & my guess is a lot of us are still wearing our stretchy pants from yesterday. all that food! it was a great thanksgiving here with family & friends & even a rickety card table. i do love our big open table […]
Read Moredignified dialogue.
one of the things we do every week at our wednesday night house of refuge is read a short paragraph as a reminder of who we are and how to keep the conversation safe. we talk about holding the tension in our differences and remembering what we have in common. in our support groups, we […]
Read Moreformation friday: a prayer for justice
“he has shown you, o mortal, what is good. and what does the Lord require of you? to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – micah 6:8 it’s been a crazy week with a wild mix of refuge stuff & twins 13th birthday celebrations (we’ve now got 4 teenagers & one almost […]
Read More"but what abouts…"
today i am guest lecturing in two classes at asuza pacific university on down we go: living into the wild ways of Jesus. it’s pretty fun that they’ve used it as a class textbook this semester, and i’m really interested to hear more about what it stirred up. when i was reflecting today on this […]
Read More