i always say that i think faith community–whatever form it takes–should be a place to practice loving and being loved by God, others, and ourselves. these things don’t come naturally for many of us and so we need a training ground, a place to learn and experiment, so we can continue to form into more […]
Read Moreshame, round 2
the past few weeks i have been thinking a lot about shame. i wrote a post in 2008 that engages with some of my thoughts about it called i hate shame so you may want to catch up there first, but i think i’m ready for round 2. i know shame isn’t the most popular […]
Read Moregratitude heals
* i wrote this post in november 2009 for the refuge blog. last night at our house of refuge, my friend shared how gratitude helps her connect with God. it made me think of this blog post & how true it is–gratitude does heal. right now, i am in a terribly difficult season physically & […]
Read Moreorphans
* this post is part of the monthly synchroblog. january’s topic, in the spirit of the season of epiphany, is the manifestation of God. check out other bloggers who are writing on the same topic; links are below & i’ll add as more come in. when i sat down to write about this topic, this […]
Read Morekenya 2011, refuge-es=yes, me=no
next week i was supposed to be leaving for kenya, taking a team from the refuge who caught the africa bug after our family trip a year ago. it is a very sad and hard thing to let go of but it was a clear & yeah-pretty-much-no-choice-in-the-matter decision because of how healing has been going […]
Read Moreall things blog
happy new year! as i mentioned in my last post, the carnival in my head just celebrated its 3 year birthday. every year i re-evaluate and wonder if i’ll keep it going or not. some days i think i’ve said everything i want to say & then other days i get a host of new […]
Read Morelooking back, looking forward
oh i am glad 2010 is over. it’s been the weirdest year. unexpected health issues, woes of parenting teenagers, and just the regular ups and downs of real life have really taken their toll. i am continuing to heal from back surgery but it is very slow going & frustrating. i have moments where the […]
Read Moreimmanuel, God is with us
do you ever have those moments where really old worship songs pop into your head? like out of nowhere? over 13 years ago at the little sweet church we used to go to in the mountains we sang this song almost every week: Jesus, name above all names beautiful savior, glorious Lo-o-o-rd Immanuel, God is […]
Read Moresingle mommies and daddies
this past weekend we finished up one of our favorite events of the year–the refuge and joshua station single moms crazy christmas brunches. this year, between the 2 venues we had 60 mommies. it was wild & fun. and trust me, it’s not a-tea-and-crumpets and remember-God-is-your-husband kind of event! we try to bring try to […]
Read Moremaking room for the unexpected
i originally wrote this post for christine sine’s advent blog series that she is hosting this season. it was a reflection from the series that we are doing for advent at the refuge called “making room for the unexpected.” i thought i’d just include it here, too, as part of this month’s synchroblog–the journey […]
Read More