* today is the december synchroblog. the topic is advent: tell me a story, places where we see God’s love & hope & peace & joy in the midst. i didn’t really write this post for the synchroblog, but the more i thought about it, the more it does fit. it’s the crazy unexpected story […]
Read Moretolerating, valuing, embracing.
“this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters..dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 john 3:16, 18 this past saturday night at the refuge my […]
Read Morefriendship: men & women can be friends, here's a place to start
* this is the final post in this series related to cultivating healthy friendship. the other posts are: mind-reading, assumptions, and saying our crazy stuff out loud, safety & boundaries aren’t dumb psychology words, conflict is good (even though most of us hate it), and learning to let go. it’s been fun for me to re-cap […]
Read Morefriendship: learning to let go
* this is the 4th post of highlights from our sacred friendship summer camp, practical ideas for becoming better friends. you can look back on the past few days to see the other posts; they are centered on the crazy stuff in our heads, safety & boundaries, and conflict. * * * * one […]
Read Morefriendship: conflict is good (even though most of us hate it)
* this is part 3 from the refuge’s sacred friendship summer camp. the questions in bold are ones we somehow talked about together at our gathering or in the homework. * * * * * some of us are really good at navigating conflict in relationships, but many of us hate conflict. look at a […]
Read Morefriendship: safety & boundaries aren't dumb psychology words
* this is the next post from friendship summer camp. it’s interesting that even as i share these here i can hear a voice that says “where’s the scripture in here? are we really going to talk about psychology stuff? come on, let’s talk about theology and church instead!” (hmm, mind-reading?). but i will hold […]
Read Morefriendship: mind-reading, assumptions & saying-our-crazy-stuff-out-loud
* thanks for bearing with me while i archived a bunch of guest posts last week. i’m still waiting to hear back about my laptop and whether they could retrieve my data so here’s to hope. this week i’m going to be sharing 5 simple posts from the refuge’s sacred friendship summer camp that we […]
Read Morefriendship heals.
“i no longer call you my servants, i call you my friends” – Jesus in april i was honored to be part of the first sacred friendship gathering in chicago, coordinated by my friend dan brennan, who is a brave & amazing advocate for cross-gender friendships. when i got home from the gathering, i entered into […]
Read Morealongside
the refuge turns 6 years old this month! it’s so hard to believe. some days it seems like yesterday and other days it feels like decades ago. there are many things to celebrate about the past 6 years. i continue to learn more than i ever bargained for about God, life, love, friendship, and leadership. […]
Read Morepracticing friendship
* this is part 2 to the last post: let’s be friends. oh wait, we don’t know how to! i wish learning new things were as easy as taking a class, watching a youtube instructional video, or reading the perfect how-to book that provides all of the answers. for fixing kitchen sinks, it probably works. […]
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