* Note: I originally posted this in December of 2013 but am republishing it tonight as part of the October 2014 Synchroblog centered on Mental Illness awareness. October 5th through 11th is Mental Illness Awareness Week. I will put the link list at the bottom of the post once it comes out tomorrow. It’s so […]
Read Moreshame, systems, and spiritual abuse.
I have been fringe-following the whole Mark Driscoll thing for years. In fact, over 8 years ago when we were starting The Refuge, some random person told my partner-in-this-crazy-endeavor about the Acts 29 Network and that “we should consider joining because they might have planting money for us.” He had no idea what Acts 29 […]
Read Moreacceptance: letting go again and again
denial, anger, bargaining, depression. the first four stages of grief are filled with raw and real feelings and many “i don’t knows.” as i said earlier, these stages are so not linear and we cycle through them over and over again throughout time. i like to think we bump into them at a difference place […]
Read Moredepression, a natural part of grief
in his book a grief observed CS lewis says this about grief: “no one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. i am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. the same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. i keep on swallowing. at other times it feels like […]
Read Morebargaining: the what if's and if only's
we’re on day 3 of grief week and i have appreciated the comments & emails & thoughts that this has stirred up in different ways. if you are just joining us, we started with denial. then yesterday was a look into anger. today, we move into the third stage that is part of any grieving […]
Read Moregrief week: anger
it’s grief week around here, and there are a few things i wanted to mention as we continue through the 5 stages of grief for these 5 days: 1. in life, these stages take months & years and are messy & weird. 5 little blog posts about them can minimize this reality and i wanted […]
Read Moregrief week: it starts with denial
well, exactly a year ago i said i was going to do a one week series called “grief week”, centered on the 5 stages of grief that can be part of church and life losses alike. then a friend from the refuge died suddenly in a tragic accident and i decided to start my summer […]
Read Morewhen father's day is hard
well here we are, our next big weird holiday that is great for all kinds of people and really hard for many others. i think at this point i will have covered all of the holidays except for valentine’s day–christmas, mother’s day, easter (for faith shifters). this year, father’s day snuck up on us and […]
Read Morewhen mother's day is hard
this upcoming sunday is a happy day for a lot of women i know. breakfast in bed, no chores, flowers, handmade cards. i never want to dismiss the awesomeness of mothers and that they get a day of extra-special love for all their hard work day in and day out. for me, with 5 kids, […]
Read More10 ways we can build bridges instead of bomb them
today is the april synchroblog and a theme i am really glad we’re tackling together: bridging the divides. the schism within christianity between those of a more liberal persuasion and those from a more conservative one keep getting bigger & bigger. as a post-evangelical mutt, i notice how hard it is to engage in these […]
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