by Collette Broady Grund Over the last year, I have spent a lot of time with groups and individuals who are processing grief. It’s an unfolding vocation as I continue to process and integrate the sudden death of my husband in June 2019. Sharing what I have learned and opening space for others to do […]
by Ralen M. Robinson “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. (Psalm 139:14) “When did you become Lutheran?” “Will you leave the ministry after you have children so you can be a mom?” “How do you expect to lead a church when you […]
by Ralen M. Robinson “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” -Galatians 3:28 The words begin to flow, but before my tongue can caress the vowel and my mouth can shape the word, I am spoken over from […]
by Jen Collins “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a […]
by Jen Collins What’s your word? Mine is OVERWHELMED. Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1) As I spend time with people in various communities the number one word that I’ve heard over these last couple of months is “OVERWHELMED.” I imagine people everywhere are striving to navigate all the ways we […]
by Jeanette Bidne “Just because you disappointed someone does not mean you did something wrong.” I have reminded myself of the truth in this statement several times in the last couple of years. I do not recall exactly who shared it with me, but I do recall how I felt when I heard it. I remember […]
by Becca Ehrlich In this month’s issue, we learned what spiritual abuse is, and why it’s so damaging. We often overlook spiritual abuse because we either don’t know it exists, or think it’s not as “bad” as other forms of abuse. But all types of abuse are destructive to us and to Jesus’ message of […]
by Becca Ehrlich Trigger warning: infant loss, spiritual abuse A few years ago, I went on a 3-week retreat to Costa Rica to appear on a TV show called Lost Resort. On the retreat, we had group activities and one-on-one sessions with leaders of the retreat called “healers.” I had gone on this retreat to […]
“Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals, and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven […]
by Susan Schneider When the list of high school basketball players who made the varsity team was posted, Michael’s name was not on it. Instead, the promising sophomore was encouraged to join the junior varsity team. The fifteen-year-old went home and cried. He threatened to quit the sport altogether, but his mother encouraged him to […]