Grief and Faith are Not Mutually Exclusive

Jesus wept. Remember?

And so did I, tonight. It caught me a little off-guard, as I’ve been hanging in there like a champ — my faith has been strong and I have been pressing in to the Lord for wisdom and the Shalom of heaven. I’ve been able to clearly see – what probably amounts to but a fraction of – the ways His hand is in the mix of this world crisis. I see the way we’re naturally resetting, as a society; the ways the all-important towers of security and affection we’ve erected are being dismantled, so that core values of family and simplicity are being restored.

The tower of professionalized youth sports – demolished.
The tower of idolatry for professional sports – squashed.

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Collateral Beauty

*Collateral Beauty.*
Watch for it.
It’s happening right under our noses, and I’m absolutely giddy with HOPE over it.

For real.

I mean – y’all – practically the entire world is doing the same weird “hunker down, pray, and wait out this pandemic” thing right now.

Unified!
How surreal is this?!

Sure – our country has had some pandemonium pendulum swings, but for the most part we have laid our petty divisions aside in recognition that we all have to band together for the greater good of our communities and neighbors right now. Suddenly, dehumanizing those with opposing political opinions seems trivial – because the human race is currently in a fight WITH each other instead of AGAINST each other.

Compassion is welling up for our neighbors both here AND abroad.… Read the rest

I Nearly Cussed in This One

If you ever wondered if God’s going to leave you stranded, let this testimony ignite your faith. My last “official” date of employment with CPS was on Aug 12. I resigned without a plan in mind – I just knew I couldn’t keep up the pace I was going in that job. But I also knew that I couldn’t afford to go unemployed indefinitely unless we wanted to sacrifice the amenities for which we’d worked and saved to afford for so long. 

I’ve been discontented for awhile, feeling like I’ve been in a cycle of settling for the same lackluster positions in semi-lackluster pseudo-counseling/pseudo-social-work fields because it’s all I’ve ever done – even though I know it’s not all I’m capable of doing.… Read the rest