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Advent Week 1: What Are We Waiting For?
My oldest daughter loves routine. She loves schedules, and having plans. She needs to know what’s going to happen and when. Every morning she wakes up and looks at our calendar in the kitchen; she probably knows our schedule better than I do. A few weeks ago, she received an…
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Caring for Those with Mental Illness: Just Love
Anxiety is real. Depression won’t simply be prayed away. Mental illness is everywhere, and it cannot be ignored. We, as followers of Christ, need to do a better job. How can we care for them? What is our place in their recovery? And how can we act like we have…
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The Purpose of Community: To Hold up Our Hands When We Can’t
“As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to…
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Worthy of Our Yes: Balancing Ministry and Family
“We’re busy reassuring one another that God wants us to do what’s safest for our families and to pursue God in a way that looks suspiciously similar to what we’d naturally do if our only concern was our own comfort and happiness.” -Letters to the Church, Francis Chan I am…
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You’re a Great Mom, No Matter What
Today a friend and I met at a coffee shop in the rain, and let our three kids run around in the outside dining area. We drank our coffee as they splashed in puddles, fell all over the place, and interrupted our conversation every two minutes or so. I remember…
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Sensible Shoes: A Story About the Spiritual Journey by Sharon Garlough Brown
In my normal, mother-with-three-kids-at-the-library style, I browsed the newly arrived fiction shelves near the kid’s room. I didn’t recognize any authors right away, so I picked up one that had a pretty cover. I was about to put it back down when the author’s bio caught my eye. “Sharon Garlough…
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Do Not Be Afraid: God Is With You
My junior year of college was one of my best years of college, I started dating my now husband, ran a personal best in the 5k and the steeplechase, and had a poem published in the college’s journal. Those things were great, but in the midst of those wonderful things…
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Leaving the 99: Evangelism Over Comfort
In 2010, 33 Chilean miners were trapped underground for 69 days after the mine caved in on them. One young man, Jose Henriquez later deemed “the Pastor,” was not a pastor by trade, but his outward faith in God during this time led 22 of the 33 miners to make…
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This is Chico in Crisis
Have you ever seen an athlete being interviewed just seconds after they cross the finish line in a race? The athlete is huffing and puffing, and trying to digest what just happened out there. The interviewer is usually asking ridiculous questions like “How does it feel to win?” “Did you…
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My Shepherd: how God Takes Care of Mamas
We can’t carry our children on our own, so he picks up our precious babies, holding them close to his heart, and carries them when we cannot. We get to stay with our people, keep up with our lives, and also have the most loving, caring God take care of…
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