Out of Place – Marnie’s Story Just weeks before high school started, we left a bustle-y, colorful South Jersey town for this sleepy, tucked-in-the-hills community in southern Ohio. From East coast to Midwest. From urban to country. From 600 students in my class to 64. From Burger King to Burger Shack. In that town of […]
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Out of Place – Susan’s Story “If only…” was my unconscious mantra for most of my life. If only I won more. If only I was prettier. If only I got the highest grade. I was convinced I was just one breakthrough away from fitting in. If I achieved XYZ then I would finally unlock […]
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We claim we want to know God more, we say that we want to grow in our faith, but words are cheap. We don’t always back our good intentions with action. It’s all too easy to become complacent in our spiritual journeys, pointing to God’s unconditional love for us instead of doing the work to […]
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Out of Place – Chantel’s Story As I sat curled up in the nook of our oversized chair with tears flowing down my cheeks I reached for my cup of tea since it always comforts me. I was snuggled up in our cozy lounge chair with a bible at my side and a sleeping baby […]
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Out of Place – Casey’s Story “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s the question every little kid is asked no less than 1000 times throughout the years. We’re told, “You can be anything you want to be.” But that be, I found, has standards. Be means success. It means making […]
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A few years ago, an incredible exhibit came to the New Children’s Museum here in San Diego. One part treehouse, one part labyrinth, it’s called The Wonder Sound and it was designed by Wes Bruce. When my boys and I first stumbled upon it, my eyes widened in delight. The structure is full of whimsy, […]
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Out of Place – Tiffany’s Story Someone once said “no one gives you a road map for the road less travelled”. The terrain is unsteady, roots pushing up out of the soil, rocks litter the trail. You push through, chopping down the brush, climbing and tripping and stumbling through. With no directions to guide you […]
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Out of Place – Jolene’s Story 2020 has been a year! I committed to writing this piece about “not fitting in” earlier in 2020 and it has been a challenge to put into words something that summarizes my experiences and shares how vulnerable I feel when sharing my story. Every time I sat down to […]
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Shrink it and pink it! This has been a common strategy in marketing campaigns geared towards women over the years. It has backfired on a number of occasions, most notably in Bic’s pink and purple pens “for her” which were 70% more expensive than their non-gendered pens.* The pink and purple pens elicited many snarky […]
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Out of Place – Kari’s Story Moving to a new town is always a challenge, but moving to a town to pastor a church whose previous pastor was staying on staff was harder than I could have imagined. The church was moving from a video venue to an autonomous church, and they needed a lead […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 