Out of Place – Pamela’s Story Sundays are my favorite day of the week. I wake early to get in some prayer time before I arrive at the church building at 7:30 am for worship sound check. My hubby, the pastor, likes to get to the building by 6:30 am so he can pray before […]
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Advent is my favorite part of the liturgical year. I didn’t grow up in a church tradition that followed the liturgical calendar, and for years I associated Advent with a countdown to Christmas. But as I’ve discovered in my adulthood, Advent is so much more than a piece of chocolate every day. Rather, it’s an […]
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Out of Place – Meredith’s Story The idea of belonging was always a mystery for me. I’d thought of it in terms of ownership or membership. “Does this dog belong to you?” “She could fit all of her belongings into a small knapsack.” “With his flag planted in the ground, he declared this land now […]
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Out of Place – Amy’s Story I never thought about names and labels and how they can affect feelings of belonging until I became a wife. Being “Ron’s wife” was my first label and I was eager to be a part of that club. Of course I’ve always been someone’s daughter, sister, or friend, but […]
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A Guest Post by Emily Sue Allen I show up at the sink to an insurmountable pile of dishes. Nothing is scraped. Nothing is sorted. My frustratingly miniscule counter space is overrun with remnants of our previous two meals—room-temp food, wadded up napkins between plates, stray silverware, and pans that need to be soaked. I […]
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Out of Place – Katha’s Story He doesn’t know that he just made a big mistake. For him it might just be a harmless question in casual small talk; for me it’s the beginning of an identity crisis: “So, where are you from?” Well, I’d like to know that, too. Ten moves, three countries, countless […]
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“So, are these two extra kids mine now?” She gestured to a five year-old splashing water in the shallow end of the pool and his little sister toddling dangerously close to the edge without a swim vest. Meanwhile, her own three year-old played with pool toys on a towel nearby. “I don’t know,” I told […]
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Out of Place – Brooke’s Story “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2 (ESV) Refuge. It’s a word seen throughout the Bible. It’s often used in terms to describe God. He is a shelter from danger. He is a shelter from falsehood. He is a place to put our […]
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“I did not sign up for this,” I muttered as I cleaned the puddle and scrubbed the tile under the kitty litter box with bleach. I remember the day, 13 years ago now, when our cat Mowgli came crashing out of the woods and into our arms while we were walking through the Michigan countryside. […]
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Out of Place – June’s Story When I first met Billy and May, they were in their 30s and had already moved from Australia, and lived in my region of southern China for almost eight years. They had five children under eight at that time, one of which was a local Chinese boy they’d adopted. […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 