wednesday my four youngest kids went back to school after a great winter break. yesterday i dropped my oldest son off at the airport and sent him back to college on the east coast. now it’s catch up time! i have all kinds of posts swirling around in my head and january is going to be wrap-up-what-i-started month. here are a few things i wanted to share before i dive back into real life next week:
- one word – i decided to participate in this for 2012. in the past i’ve had five and end up never remembering any of them! here’s a post i wrote for the refuge blog that has some ideas if you haven’t already thought of one yet. my 2012 word is: focus. oh yeah, that’s the right word.
- honoring doubt – my monthly contribution to sheloves magazine is on one of my favorite topics from down we go: honoring doubt. i hope we can keep creating safe spaces to honor doubt.
- when Jesus met mary: a sacred friendship gathering – i am very excited to be part of this gathering–when Jesus met mary: a conference exploring friendship between men & women–in april in chicago centered on sacred cross-gender friendships hosted by my friend dan brennan. all of the details are on the website. let me know if you can come be part of this brave & much-needed conversation.
- unladylike – my friend pam hogeweide’s book unladylike: resisting the injustice of inequality in the church is being released at the end of the is month by civitas press. you can preorder a copy now if you want. it rocks!
- and the resignation of eve – my other northwest friend jim henderson is always stirring up some great stuff for us to consider. his new book the resignation of eve: what if adam’s rib is no longer willing to be the church’s backbone is coming out soon, too. i’m very glad this critical topic is getting some traction.
- convergence – i couldn’t go last year because of a family trip but am planning on being there this year, march 2-4 in portland. this year’s theme is: staying power–presence & possibility as leaders. if you haven’t been before, it’s a really wonderful gathering of strong & passionate women.
- synchroblog – we are starting off 2012 with a new teammate & a survey to help gather ideas for the upcoming year. if you are a blogger and want to be challenged to write on a variety of topics at the same time as other bloggers, all are welcome.
- with communities – my awesome friend john martinez created a log-in-so-there’s-greater-safety-and-connection site for incarnational community cultivators who could use some support, input, encouragement, and connection with other people who believe that prepositions matter and are trying crazy stuff, too. check it out here.
- walking wounded: hope for those hurt by the church – my friend phyllis mathis & i are hosting a 4 week online group for those of you out there who are painfully disillusioned by a faith or church experience. our october 2011 gathering in denver was great for those who could pull it off, but this is a chance for others to participate, too. because of some schedule conflicts, the date got moved to february 6th 2012. go to live it to the full to register & for all the details. if you or someone you know could use some healing, hope, laughter, and intention on getting unstuck, we’d love to have you join us. this little video is sort of serious (i promise we’ll laugh and have fun, too) but gives an idea of what we are doing. thanks for passing it on to friends who want to save some money on therapy and get some traction on healing in this new year.
i hope your year is getting off to a good start. i am looking forward to what’s ahead! peace, kathy