I have always regretted the impact that gambling and the lottery have had on poor communities. It seems, in my experience, that suffering, disappointment and hopelessness breed a susceptibility to “get rich quick” dreams and schemes, and I want to slash the tires on the big casino buses that park in front of the Food… Continue reading Mystery
Author: erika
Little ones to him belong
Two days ago, Mercy surprised me with a new song: she sang Jesus Loves Me in its entirety! I have sung this song to her more times than I can count but she never once has sung along. But she is at this very fun stage right now where all the things she has been… Continue reading Little ones to him belong
Cry Freedom?
South Africa today… -This nation of 43 million has more than 5.3 million known AIDS sufferers. -Statistics indicate that 50% of today’s youth under the age of 15 in South Africa will die within the next 10 years. -The AIDS pandemic in South Africa is producing approximately 150,000 orphaned children per year, for which there… Continue reading Cry Freedom?
Because we live in L.A.
Last night we sat outside enjoying the finally cool evening with our Friday night friends. We had spread a blanket in the grass at the park by their house that runs along the bluff overlooking the ocean. Doug brought his guitar and was playing and singing, and suddenly there was this Russian man with a… Continue reading Because we live in L.A.
Practicing the presence
This past year I turned to a free online resource to help me bring order to my household. The thing about this resource that has worked for me (in spite of a great deal of cheesiness and way too many reminder emails that clutter my inbox and totally annoy my husband) is that she believes… Continue reading Practicing the presence
Mission
Ryan Bolger, author and instructor at Fuller, has a great post on the role of the Sunday service in how churches think about evangelism and life together. Doug and I talk about this stuff ALL THE TIME as we live and breathe the challenge of growing a church in our community. Thanks to Todd Hiestand… Continue reading Mission
Blessed
Scot McKnight had quite the discussion going today about women pastors, and some of the obstacles they face within denominations that support the ordination of women. As I read some of the comments, I was struck by God’s grace to me in my own process of being called, as a woman, to pastoral ministry. It… Continue reading Blessed
A gift
This past week, Doug and I were humbled by a gift from someone we have never met. An individual on the other side of the country was moved to send us a gift card to help us out with groceries this month. In a letter they sent with the gift, this person shared about how… Continue reading A gift
What would Disney do?
We spent the day today in Anaheim visiting Doug’s dad and his wife. They have rented a condo for part of the week and the last two days we have been enjoying their wonderful company, some nice air conditioning, and the great swimming pool at their resort. They are located on the edge of the… Continue reading What would Disney do?
It must have been a PC
From the LAPD website pressroom: Non-tactical Negligent Discharge Los Angeles: A police officer, who was cleaning his service weapon, negligently fired one round into an office computer. “Officers are expected to maintain control of their weapon at all times,” said LAPD spokesman Lieutenant Paul Vernon. “We refer to these incidents as negligent discharges rather than… Continue reading It must have been a PC