By Karen Swank This past Friday, I joined the ranks of the unemployed when the shelter where I worked did some downsizing. I had never been laid off before; that meeting was short, to the point, and absent the drama one might imagine. Driving home that afternoon, I texted my kids. “On my way home. … Continue reading Resolutions from the Unemployment Line
By Brooke Luby Maybe I am crazy or schizophrenic, but lately I have been more aware of the fact that I am a physical and a spiritual being. It’s like I have been able to separate the two, and see who I am really am. How many people in the world are happy when they … Continue reading Soul Meets Body
By Brooke Luby Thanks to author Shauna Niequist, Wrecked is offering three, free signed copies of her book Cold Tangerines. Just answer the question at the bottom of this post to enter, and we’ll randomly pick three winners in a week. Find out more at the end of this review: When I first picked up … Continue reading Book Review and Giveaway: Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist
By Karen Swank I was reading a novel that I’d picked up at the library, written by one of my favorite writers of historical fiction. I hadn’t bothered with my usual habit of reading the back cover to see what it was about; this author could be trusted to be interesting. I was too far … Continue reading Valuable, Beautiful, Worthy
By Ben MacKinnon Answers are one thing the Christian community has no shortage of. So many of my peers have the most matter-of-fact responses to some of the most confounding conundrums within mankind’s general understanding of existence. Whether it’s why things are the way they are, why they won’t be what they can be, or why they … Continue reading What If We’re Wrong: Reflections On Faith
By Josh Harrod Casper It’s funny to be a person that sees God in a rotting log or busy river water, but I do. In fact, nature is full of these little things that I see God in. I was camping a couple of weeks ago at Bagby Hot Springs here in midwestern Oregon. Hot … Continue reading God in the Woods
By Cassandra Smith I glimpsed at a picture of Jesus. It is hard to describe, as I am sure all images of God are — yet the moment sticks with me. I see him walking through a city street. It was Nashville, maybe? Pittsburgh? Dallas? In a way, the city encompassed a hundred cities, but … Continue reading Anything You Are Afraid to Lose Owns You
By Joe Bunting I am sitting in my mom’s office, which used to be my bedroom. Last night it was my bedroom once again, and today it is my office. My housemates and I, along with 30,500 others in Santa Barbara, have been evacuated. The Jesusita Fire has now burned 3,500 acres. The officials say … Continue reading We Have Been Evacuated: Jesusita Fire: Day 4
By Karen Swank It was Saturday, hours before the sun would rise, and I was wide awake. Saturday is my sleeping-in morning – the time that absorbs the impact of the other six days, which generally require me to wake up at 5 a.m. and run until what feels like Past My Bedtime. But that … Continue reading Rediscovering Rest
By Tom Batterson Where have I witnessed God working lately? I have been sick (influenza). Now, you may be expecting a message about how God healed me, saving me from the anguish of this terrible virus. But that is not what He had in mind. I say, “He had in mind,” because that is exactly … Continue reading Sabbath Rests and Influenza