some synonyms for “resurrecting”: awakening, bouncing back, breathing new life into, brightening, coming to life, making whole, overcoming, reawakening, recovering, rekindling, renewing, renovating, restoring, resuscitating, snapping out of it, springing up, strengthening, waking up. yesterday was resurrection sunday. a day where we tell the easter story and Jesus risen from the tomb and remember that […]
Read Moreformation friday: the cross
“it is finished” – john 19:30 it’s good friday (well, it was, but since i’m just now posting this it’s holy saturday). and because it’s so important to not be too serious all the time, i really love david hayward’s cartoon. each year, the cross has had different meanings to me. i’ve rewritten the same […]
Read More10 ideas to re-engage with the Bible if we've become allergic to it.
shifting faith takes its toll in so many ways–changed friendships & relationships, loss of connection & belonging in churches, and disorientation on how we connect with God. so many of the old ways stop working. what used to fill us up now sometimes repels us. what used to feel so comfortable now feels so foreign. […]
Read Moreformation friday: noticing
twice a month at the refuge we have a gathering called “refuge advocates”, a time for learning, training, encouragement, and soul care for people who journey with people in hard places. i love this group! it is not just for refuge advocates but for friends from other churches & ministries, too, to come and have […]
Read Moreformation friday: thirsty
“but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – Jesus to the samaritan woman in john 4:14 it’s a little hard to believe that christmas came & went and now we are diving […]
Read Moreformation friday: no condemnation
years ago when my kids were little (and we only had a couple!) jose and i did scripture memory cards together as a spiritual practice (oh, those good old days). it is amazing how many of those passages are still embedded into my heart and i am thankful for them in all kinds of ways. […]
Read Moreformation friday: go to beautiful
i thought i’d mix it up a little this week for formation friday with a video reflection instead of using words. i love this song and sometimes it’s nice to just look & listen instead of read & think. beauty is God’s image reflected in all kinds of wonderful & simple ways. so often, it’s […]
Read Morewhen christmas is hard: honoring paradox
well, so much choosing for “help, thanks, wow” for when christmas is hard. sometimes things just shift and new ideas come. that’s what i love about blogging; it is current. this week, i got a completely new thought on how i wanted to wrap this series, mainly because it’s what seems to always help me […]
Read Morewhen christmas is hard: "look toward the light"
“finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – phiippians 4:8 i don’t know about you, but i’m in a fog. friday’s tragedy coupled with so much going on here in real life plus […]
Read Morewhen christmas is hard: "help"
“o God, listen to my cry! hear my prayer! from the ends of the earth, i cry to you for help. when my heart is overwhelmed. lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge” – psalm 61:1-3, NLT sometimes when i write about how hard life is here at the refuge, i wonder […]
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