God of captives and pilgrims, you brought your people home from despair and gave them a land of freedom and plenty. Look in mercy on us your servants, deliver us from the prison of selfishness and sin, and bring us home to justice, sharing, and compassion, the realm you promised all the world in Jesus […]
Justice and Humanity
From July 11-20, I was experiencing the lush country landscapes of Guatemala, meeting the beautiful people – both Spanish and indigenous – and learning historical, cultural, and justice lessons with my fellow cohort friends and professors. This intensive residency is a part of our graduate program – a Master’s in Spiritual Formation and Leadership. The […]
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Homes of Hospitality
I’m going to suggest something crazy: what if God’s call for his people – for us – is to create lives and communities of hospitality? From the time of creation, through the covenant with Abraham, to the sending of the Spirit: all of these pivotal moments in the story of God’s People has had to […]
Roots
My dear church family, As I look out my kitchen window I am beginning to see a longtime dream come true – the makings of a garden! Ever since we were newly married, Kevin and I have talked about having a garden, imagining where we would plant it, and what foods we would want to […]
Resurrection People
The week ahead of us is a bit of a roller coaster ride. We begin with Palm Sunday and the throngs of people cheering in the streets for this King Jesus. We will sing “Hosanna!” and wave our palms with shared excitement. We follow the story through our daily Scripture readings and watch as many […]
8 Years of Marriage
Today we celebrate the exchange of our wedding vows, the day we entered into the holy covenant of marriage. By the grace of God, our marriage has endured and is stronger and more lovely with each year. And last night as we crawled into bed, we reminisced about our wedding day. It was a joyous […]
Kirsten Grace – Month 3
My dear sweet Kirsten Grace, Happy 3rd Month Birthday! This has been such a fun month with you. When people ask “how’s the baby” I find myself saying, “She is so much fun!” The first few weeks were just about surviving…how to feed you, how to soothe you, how to sleep with one eye open. But […]
Christmas Newsletter 2015
For years we prayed for this moment. Our hearts ached, our minds questioned, and our spirits sought the Lord. Yet I’m not sure we ever dreamed that just days before Christmas 2015 Melanie would be 39 weeks pregnant. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love by which he loved us…showed us […]
Sowing and Reaping
Dear Child of Ours, Sometimes there are so many swirling thoughts, countless circumstances being juggled, it’s hard to know where to begin. It’s easy to feel paralyzed by the options and opinions. Deep breath. One thing at a time. I’m a future-planner. A get-all-my-ducks-in-a-row kind of person. Thus, I am so thankful for your Daddy, the guy […]
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Favor and Honor
Dear Child of Mine, Sometimes I get scared of how life will change when you come. I realize what a great gift these almost-seven years are, just your Dad and me. We can come and go as we please. We can go on dates and visit friends or host a gathering without thinking of how […]