Out of Place – Rachel’s Story It was the 5th Starbucks trip that finalized it for me; I was no longer part of the circle and I needed to accept it. The women who I had spent hours doing life together with the prior three years walked by me in the hallway of the church […]
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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 – Elise’s Story It was the fall of 2012. I was attending Allume, a blogging/writing conference. I was so excited! Blogging was still newish, along with online magazines, contributor websites and the like. My friend Kimberly Amici and I had recently started CirclesOfFaith.org – Where Life, Faith, and Community Intersect. Our site […]
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Out of Place Series – Kassie’s Story I flew to visit my friend in his home state of Kansas. The difference between Northwest Kansas and Northern Michigan shocked me. While flying from the Mitten State to the nearest airport and driving towards his family’s farm, I wondered: “Where are all the trees and water?” Under […]
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It’s Spring Break here in San Diego, and since my husband still has to work, I am tasked with entertaining two boys instead of just one. Thankfully, I have friends in the same boat. Earlier this week, a neighbor and I were bemoaning the fact that we had to do our grocery shopping with two […]
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“How was your weekend?” someone asks. It’s a fair question and a common one. And answering it presents an opportunity to curate your life: to showcase the parts you want people to see in order to keep people at a distance, or to invite them into more authentic relationship. On Saturday, we went to a […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 