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 Moresmall is plenty
this in 2010 but it’s been on my mind a lot lately, especially in so many conversations with others about dreams for new communities-ministries-passions-ideas. it’s easy to measure our dreams by other people’s measures and forget that small is plenty. * * * * * “get ready, God is preparing you for something really, really […]
Read Morepawn shops, empty refrigerators & the long hill up
* this post is part of the february 2012 synchroblog on economic inequality. i originally wrote it in 2008 but right now i am out of town with no internet, so i thought i’d share it again with a few small tweaks. it might not fit exactly with the theme but i hope it points […]
Read Moredreaming & making what could be, be.
in honor of martin luther king, jr. day, i thought i would post a little excerpt about dreams from my book, down we go: living into the wild ways of Jesus. it was originally inspired by a post i wrote in 2007 for the refuge blog called “we have a dream”; then i modified it […]
Read More3, well 4, christmas-y things
well here we go, the last few days before christmas. it was 67 degrees here in colorado yesterday & snowing today! it has been a really wild & crazy refuge week with several of my most favorite events–serving dinner at joshua station, a beautiful transitional housing program in denver that we love, our 6th annual […]
Read Morebecoming better human beings
in the first few years of the refuge there were days when i really just wanted to throw in the towel. i often wonder why in the $*!^$&!(!)# i care so much about all of this. really. in the big scheme of things we are a little blip in the universe, just a teeny weeny […]
Read Morelittle pockets of freedom.
we’ve been talking a lot about wounds from the church at the refuge in preparation for our walking wounded gathering, which is this upcoming weekend in denver. i am really looking forward to it & oh do we have some fun stuff planned! we still have a little bit of room if you want to […]
Read Morewe may look like losers re-dux
* this post is part of october’s synchroblog which is centered on downward mobility, one of my favorite topics! read what others are saying about upside-down-kingdom-living by clicking on the link list at the end of this post. i’ll update it as more posts come in. * * * * * my definition of downward […]
Read Morepericardiums
per·i·car·di·um - [per-i-kahr-dee-uhm] noun. the membranous sac enclosing the heart. * * * * * yeah, that’s a big word usually associated with life science class & people in the hospital with heart troubles. if you don’t know what it is, it’s the sac around our heart that protects it. if a pericardium is too weak, it’s […]
Read Morethere's a difference between believing & "right belief"
one of the things i love the most about our little wild & crazy refuge community is we can hold the space for a lot of divergent views about the Bible & life & faith. it’s not an easy task, i must say, and sometimes i get asked “so, just what does the refuge believe […]
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