this weekend’s walking wounded: hope for those hurt by the church was a really sweet & beautiful time for me. it was hard, too, because the reality of so much pain & loss in what’s-supposed-to-be-the-safest-place-on-earth really gets under my skin. i will never be able to recreate what happened there but i will try over […]
Read Morelittle pockets of freedom.
we’ve been talking a lot about wounds from the church at the refuge in preparation for our walking wounded gathering, which is this upcoming weekend in denver. i am really looking forward to it & oh do we have some fun stuff planned! we still have a little bit of room if you want to […]
Read Morepericardiums
per·i·car·di·um - [per-i-kahr-dee-uhm] noun. the membranous sac enclosing the heart. * * * * * yeah, that’s a big word usually associated with life science class & people in the hospital with heart troubles. if you don’t know what it is, it’s the sac around our heart that protects it. if a pericardium is too weak, it’s […]
Read Moreuncensored prayer
one thing that i’ve always struggled with over the years as a christian has been the emphasis on “prayer” looking a certain way and how many of us have always felt like we fall short. i can’t tell you the amount of times i have either said or heard others say, “i am not that […]
Read Morethere's a difference between believing & "right belief"
one of the things i love the most about our little wild & crazy refuge community is we can hold the space for a lot of divergent views about the Bible & life & faith. it’s not an easy task, i must say, and sometimes i get asked “so, just what does the refuge believe […]
Read Morewe need more cheerleaders
okay don’t laugh too hard at this picture of me. it’s when i was a sophomore in high school. and yes, i was a cheerleader. don’t hold that against me. i swear, i was a nice one, albeit a sort of klutzy one. a little bit ago i spent some time with one of my […]
Read Moreyou can't have courage without fear.
i am glad some of you had fun with the loving God different ways exercise. this past saturday night at the refuge we did part 2 and split into 10 different groups & spent the evening processing these questions: 1. what individual practices help you connect with God as a naturalist, contemplative, caregiver, etc. 2. […]
Read Morewalking wounded: hope for those hurt by church
have you… been asked to leave a church or told you’re not a “good fit”? felt forced to conform or remain consistently overlooked? been told that you are loved but not your sin? questioned leadership or theology and found yourself on the outside? felt sad, angry, afraid, lost, or disoriented after painful church experiences? i’m […]
Read Morethe great distraction
a few weeks ago i was in a conversation with a friend about the use of the Bible in our Christian faith. i sometimes get criticized for not using the Bible enough, in that i am not that excited about exegeting passages intellectually. i definitely believe in the value, challenge, and beauty in the Bible, […]
Read Morefriendship, freedom & a lot less fear
“there is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” st. thomas aquinas uh oh, i’m on my “men and women need to learn how to be friends” kick right now. I think it’s appropriate in light of the shared leadership conversations, too, because it gets to the center of so […]
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