Happy Christmas Eve. I am juggling kids and Refuge this week with no time to write but always come back to the gift of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. It’s one of the deepest spiritual truths that continues to sustain me and was the one thing that I could always rely on during my crazy […]
Read Moreformation friday: screwing up as spiritual formation
I make a lot of mistakes. I say stupid things I regret. I dig holes when I should lay down my shovel. I hurt people unintentionally. I hit “send” on emails when I wish I hadn’t. I write things on my blog that sometimes make me cringe later. The past few months I had some […]
Read Morehuman connection.
Some of you may have already seen this excellent video that points to a recent study that confirms what so many have known intuitively–the root of all addictions is disconnection. It’s really worth the time to watch it and reminds me of what one of my favorite theologian-practictioners in the whole-wide-world, Jean Vanier, has been […]
Read More"um, well, it depends on what you mean by 'Christian'"
In the earlier days of my faith, knowing who was and wasn’t a “Christian” was a big deal to me. There was something attached to it that was comforting, familiar, certain. When I look back on those years, “Is he/she a Christian?” would come up in countless ways–related to teachers, doctors, family members, auto mechanics, […]
Read Morewhen Christmas is hard…
Blogging has been on the back-burner for me in this past season, and I miss you guys! I just haven’t been in the right head space to write, and honestly, waking up to hearing the realities of another mass shooting, this one at a disability center, just makes me so sick and all words fall […]
Read Moreimportant words from parents of LGBQT kids: what hurts, what helps
I had the privilege of spending a few days with an online support group for moms of LGBQT kids of all ages. What a gift! These are amazing women of hope and courage. As we all know, many strains of Christianity have not been kind to these kids and parents. The judgment, the ostracizing, the […]
Read Moreplease dear God, help us find a better way to talk about abortion solutions
I always get nervous when I post about this topic because it brings out the trolls. At the same time, I can barely stand how horrid the conversations about abortion seem to go online. I believe in every part of me that there’s a better way to talk about this and find some better solutions together. […]
Read MoreChristian show or tell?
I recently had a brief and good but challenging conversation with a friend about Christian belief. It wasn’t a long drawn out one, but as they were explaining the ins and outs of why a particular belief was important, I could feel my body tense up and my heart shut down. The only thing I […]
Read Morefusing: the 10 commandments.
Well, like so many other areas of my life, sometimes when I make plans, they fall apart. I had wanted to work on this series a few weeks ago as I prepare to take a summer blog break, but just never got to it in the hubbub of May, all 5 of my kids being […]
Read Moreunderneath anger.
This month’s Synchroblog is centered on Anger. Here’s the description: “Anger sometimes has a bad reputation. Some of us have been taught that anger is a negative emotion, something that should be squeezed out, prayed through, avoided. Others of us have been raised in families and churches that never allowed for expression of anger so […]
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