Lent. Fasting. Quite honestly, I have always thought it was asinine to give up diet coke or sweets. Mostly because how does not eating a chocolate bar draw you closer to God? I’ve always fallen on the fasting side of giving something up that will draw me closer to God. For several years I gave … Continue reading challenge
Real. Life.
pain
You would hope something as wondrous and miraculous as God’s mission wouldn’t bring hurt, pain or anger. But when you have people that are serving from a place of passion…our humanness enters in, and all hell breaks loose. It’s ugly. It’s painful. It hurts. But what can we really expect when we are dealing with … Continue reading pain
tables
I love Chinese food. There, I said it, the world knows! I have a bit of an obsession with it…in college one year for my birthday a friend brought me my favorite Chinese for lunch between classes, and then another for dinner took me to the same place to celebrate one more year of my … Continue reading tables
overview…haiti style
January 12, 2010 was a horrifying day for Haiti. The earthquake killed 300,000 people, left 250,000 children without one or both parents, and displaced 1.5 million out of its population of 10 million. As staggering as that all is…it was just one in a long list of natural disasters, political unrest and a myriad of … Continue reading overview…haiti style
never have i found
I was a freshman in college when I had a significant identity crisis. A friend died. I had some issues with depression. I fought with my parents constantly…from 3 hours away. And I realized I’d been hiding behind, and projecting that image, of who other people wanted me to be. My most common phrase was … Continue reading never have i found
undesirable
outcast. ashamed. hidden. alone. undesirable. For a lot of reasons, I think the story of the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus in John 4 is absolutely beautiful. One main reason is Jesus was going through Samaria, when ‘normal’ folks went around region containing the outsiders, their enemies. The other reason is…by ‘normal’ cultural … Continue reading undesirable
enthusiasm
I feel like I just got a booster shot of enthusiasm to keep me going the entire week…which seeing as how the end of this week is the Family Mission Trip…that may be excellent timing. This afternoon found me at the Mavericks hockey game with nineteen 5th & 6th graders. They were loud. Very loud. … Continue reading enthusiasm
surrender
There is this word that has been drifting in one ear and out the other pretty consistently for a couple of months. Surrender. Ah…so much in a single word. I’m stubborn. Surprised, right? It goes against my very nature to actually surrender to something. I give it all the fight I have in me sometimes. … Continue reading surrender
watch me
Yesterday I walked out the back door of the church to my car and was greeted with ‘Stephanie!’ It was my basketball buddy who likes to play at the church hoop with her brothers who came toward me bouncing her basketball…'do you have any gum?’ I always get that question …the exact same one. I … Continue reading watch me
celebration of life
Sunday was a beast for me…but it had some amazing things to be a part of all day! I loved celebrating the worth of an orphan with so many of you at the 9:05 service, and at the Russia presentation at 12:15. These kids desire every ounce of love we send in their direction! But … Continue reading celebration of life
sojourner4jesus 