this past friday night we hosted a theology camp called “the radical welcome of God: wisdom from benedictine spirituality.” two nuns from benet hill monastery shared their hearts & stories & practices with us. it was beautiful in more ways than i can count. my amazing friend & local spiritual director ellen haroutunian facilitated questions for the […]
Read Moreleaving church to save our souls
goodness gracious, people get riled up over conversations about “church.” i wish we could get as much traction on justice & poverty issues! it’s fascinating, really, how passionate many are about this topic, especially when someone threatens the church in any way. i didn’t read all of donald miller’s post last week about why he […]
Read More"i just don't see how he could do that" & some thoughts on abuse
**warning: this post is about sexual abuse (and emotional, physical, and spiritual too) and so if you are extra sensitive to this topic, please know there could be possible triggers. abuse is one of the most damaging things that can happen to someone. and there’s never an excuse for it. young or old, male or […]
Read More10 field trips worth taking.
[dropcap]s[/dropcap]everal years ago i wrote a post for an online magazine called “a field trip everyone should take” centered on some of my experiences at social services agencies. it’s just so easy to say things like “well, those people just need to get a job….” or “they are lazy” or quickly end people to get […]
Read Moremaking another's pain in their heart our own.
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e got back last night from our fun adventure, celebrating my third kid’s high school graduation a little early. the passport debacle was redeemed and we had a great time (and yes, will be getting the twins passports renewed this week). it really was a perfect & annoying test for my river image for 2013 & now […]
Read More5 false things the church often teaches us about healing
i have a theory about healing: most of us need it, a lot of us want it, and many of our church experiences have taught us some things that make it harder to get. this makes me sad, mainly because church is supposed to be a place of healing, the safest place on earth to […]
Read Moreeveryone's fighting some kind of battle.
a few weeks ago a dear friend from high school posted this picture of me on facebook. i’m totally embarrassed to share it here, but i thought i’d be brave to make a point. yes, i was the basketball homecoming queen my senior year of high school. don’t hold it against me. and yes, homecoming […]
Read Morecorrective experiences
“you’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. we’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. if i make you light-bearers, you don’t think i’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? i’m putting you on […]
Read Morewhat seems to help in the midst of pain
“when we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. the friend who can be silent with us […]
Read Morethere are lots of ways to mother.
it’s mother’s day weekend in the USA, the time where a bunch of women feel special and extra-loved, and another group of women often don’t. like so many other holidays, many who feel great about it sometimes forget that there are others who really struggle this particular weekend. church is extra sucky if they make […]
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