Finding Missional Moments Right where you are
It was a Wednesday, and I was hiding in the church kitchen, eating mint chip ice cream from a paper bowl. The giant tub was halfway gone, and the Post-It on the lid said, “Youth Group.” Since I’m on staff as an assistant to our youth ministry, I felt justified in helping myself to three […]
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One spring day in San Diego, I took the boys on a choose-your-own adventure walk. They took their scooters and a nickel. Every time we came to a fork in the road, they flipped their coin: heads to the right, tails to the left. They were excited about the prospect and eager to see where […]
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Last week, I joined the boys in the pond – a welcome relief from the heat and humidity. We splashed around, they climbed me like a jungle gym, they begged me to throw them into the water. When I got tired, I climbed onto the floating dock. I untied the yellow rope from the post […]
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When we moved to France when I was seven, my mom discovered that peanut butter was an American product. She searched high and low in every grocery store, determined to find that quick and easy lunch spread. One day, she came home with a tin can: she had finally found peanut butter in a specialty […]
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Every time I see the mosaic sculptures at Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego, I’m impressed. By no means are they the most awe-inspiring examples of this ancient art form, but I love the intricate pop of color they provide, set against the gray buildings of downtown. Mosaic art dates back to centuries before Christ […]
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Hello, my name is Sarah and I’m a recovering people pleaser. I do not want to let you down. I will jump through all the hoops to make sure you like me and think I’m nice. Disappointing you makes me physically uncomfortable. The temptation is strong Last year, I was approached by two moms at […]
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One morning last week, I grabbed my pen and notebook and set out to do my daily fifteen minutes of writing. The boys were watching some morning cartoons and I pressed pause to let them know I was starting my writing. “Please don’t interrupt me for the next fifteen minutes,” I said. They nodded, eager […]
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The first time I confronted my own racism was at the dollar store. I was in the checkout line, emptying the contents of my basket on the conveyor belt. Standing in front of me was a black mom, a little younger than me, holding her toddler. In the checkout line right next to mine, a […]
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Our identities aren’t forged in a vacuum. Each and every one of us has an origin story — a narrative that explains how and why we became the person we are today. Not just for superheroes Spiderman didn’t become a superhero overnight. The radioactive spider bite was sudden and unexpected, but Peter Parker didn’t instantly become a […]
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On the morning of my thirty-eighth birthday, I came downstairs to find a drawing from my six year-old on the counter for me. “Happy Berthday” was scrawled in pink at the top of the paper. A giant orange cat with a raccoon tail stared at me from underneath the greeting with its purple cartoon eyes. […]
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