i don’t think we could talk about doubt & faith and miss one of the most critical reasons that it is tricky for people to connect with God in a real and intimate way: it is extremely confusing why such cruddy things happen in this world while God seems to “stand by and watch.” it […]
Read Moredoubt & faith: new ways for old words
i’m a little behind these days, but what’s new? we are in the thick of things around here, with jose juggling the start-up of a 2 year department of justice grant to serve women victims of violence in denver (so exciting but a ton of work) & our kiddos all growing up and going to […]
Read Moredoubt & faith: owning our egocentric tendencies
every day this week i meant to post but here i am, squeaking by before the end of the week and before our next refuge gathering tomorrow evening. i am still typing on my old irritating computer but the big news at my house is that a lovely group of friends pooled together and bought […]
Read Moredoubt & faith: the wild, beautiful ride
for the next month we are doing a series at the refuge’s saturday evening gathering focused on “doubt and faith.” i usually don’t do this, but i think i’ll write about it each week here as a little mini-series because i know so many of you can relate to this conversation in different ways. i […]
Read Moreserenity & courage
God grant me the serenity To accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world As it is, not […]
Read Morepractical theology
“Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” […]
Read MoreJesus school: not the most inspiring in town
many of you know that when i describe the refuge i use words like “messy, chaotic, honest, uncomfortable, unpredictable.” it is so funny to me, looking back on the past 3 ½ years how the world that i came from was completely different. on mega-church staff we used words like “focused, distraction-free, inspiring, dark-so-you-don’t-have-to-see-the-person-next-to-you, comfortable.” […]
Read Morehope's two beautiful daughters
“hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are anger and courage. anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” – st. augustine the minute i read this, i knew it would be one i’d remember for a long time. i love the […]
Read Morethe chapters in our stories
it’s always so darn serious around here at the carnival. i don’t mean to be intense all the time, and i swear if you know me in real life i’m actually fun, hahah! honestly, though, sometimes it’s nice to just chill a bit and not solve all of the problems of the church in one […]
Read Morethe furious longing of God
about 14 or so years ago i read abbas child by brennan manning for the first time. if you see my copy, you will notice that practically the entire book is underlined! when i cracked the book for the first time it touched a place in my heart that needed touching about God’s unconditional love […]
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