I don't live in Joplin. I've never visited. I didn't lose a loved one to the storm. But I'm visiting my own lost places this week, in simple solidarity. What are your "lost" places? Where did they go, and what is left of them? How do you embody the grace and sense of belonging that you received there. Read more
...what matters most comes with us, and all will be restored. When it is time to move on and reinvent, we have a moment to grab what is needful, what is beautiful, what is life-giving, and use it as the foundation for new life. Read more
I think what the Lord, our shepherd, would have us know is this: peace is not dependent upon our surroundings. Peace is not a result of our circumstances but often a defiance of them. Read more
“The Peace Pole Project is the official Project of The World Peace Prayer Society. It started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, who decided to dedicate his life to spreading the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in response to the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peace Poles are handcrafted monuments erected the world over as international symbols of Peace. Their purpose is to spread the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in the languages of the world.” http://www.peacepoles.com/... Read more
All the awkwardness of dancing at prom, with the joy of dancing at a wedding and the pain of the morning AFTER dancing at said wedding, realizing that you are far too old and out of shape to dance for hours in 3-inch-heels. It's that kind of dance. Read more
A toy catalogue for Easter, Target? Seriously? I realize that Easter has gone just as mainstream as Christmas. That’s fine. Christians can’t mark a day as special and then say that nobody else is allowed to be special that day. Life is short. Celebrate whenever possible! Make special days meaningful, even if your interpretation differs from the traditional meaning. But a home/table/child that looks like the Easter Bunny threw up in here? No thanks. [i’m looking at you pottery... Read more
No, I haven’t resorted to praying to my coffee. Though, as anyone with young children can affirm, it is tempting. I once read a little blurb in a magazine about the powerful properties of coffee. As the “lifeblood” dripped into the pot, the author said, she didn’t just start to feel better about the morning. She felt better about herself, the world, and life in general.* I mean, right? For those of us who drink coffee, isn’t that pretty much the size... Read more
...not only was I deeply offended by the presumption that i must not be a real pastor, or a real Christian--i traced the beginning of this uncomfortable scene back to some parenting advice she gave me, based upon a ministry whose foundations i find utterly backward. If i keep taking my kids there, I will forever be wondering...did she learn this in med school? Or from her morning drive radio program? Read more
Yikes. I have not blogged in so long that i had forgotten my password. Slacker? yes. Mom of toddler and newborn much? yes. Well, newborn’s not a newborn anymore. Technically, TECHNICALLY, he should be sleeping through the night now (insert riotous laughter from all of mom-dom here…) and my life should be back to “normal.” Trouble is, there’s a new standard of normal in my life now, and i have a feeling that will continue to evolve over the next... Read more
I’ve lived in Phoenix for 4 years now, so I should know better…but I still see “August” on the calendar and start thinking fall. I start thinking new backpacks and good t.v. and new clothes and cooler weather. All those things we associate with fall, even if fall is still a long way off. In the valley, fall (such as it is) is even farther off than it might be in other parts of the world. What you’d think I would have... Read more
Irreverin
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