Jesus’ disciples were a lot like moms: exhausted and constantly surrounded by needy people. As I read the story of the feeding of the five thousand last week, I saw what was happening behind the scenes instead of the typical flannel graph telling of the miracle. Jesus had just sent out his twelve disciples two […]
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Out of Place – Sarah’s Story As we stepped off of the plane I knew life would look different. I just didn’t know how. Walking into the unknown is scary, but suddenly choices we had made, my husband and I, to walk this path, felt undoable. We can’t do this! I kept thinking. I was […]
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My life-changing phone call wasn’t a diagnosis, and it wasn’t a death. It was a woman who dutifully informed me that my program of study had run out of funding and would be closing immediately. “But…what am I supposed to do now?” I blubbered, only a year away from college graduation. “You can schedule an […]
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My word of the year in 2020 was “savor.” It made sense in January, in my rushed and busy-doing-good life to slow down enough to savor the small, good things of my day. And then March happened and the world shut down. All four of us were sick and we lounged around the house, resting, […]
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December is the longest month for kids. The anticipation of Christmas morning, of finally tearing into all those pretty packages under the tree has them wishing they could fast forward the days. Instead, the first thing my boys do when they come downstairs in the morning is to flip the numbered blocks on their homemade […]
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Out of Place – Jennie’s Story “We really don’t fit in anywhere, do we?” I finally admitted it out loud to my husband. We never quite fit the mold provided for us by society. Looking back over the years we’ve been married, we have tended to run from the mold, which has made it difficult […]
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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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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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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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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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