Saturday night, our phone rang and it was my sister on the line: “Can you guys turn on the T.V. and see if they are reporting anything about our neighborhood right now?” She was calling from her van where she was parked in front of her house, with two kids and a carload of groceries… Continue reading One more
Category: Faith
Ghandi, Job and the ghetto
I have received a great deal of encouragement these past few days from a wide range of people through phone calls, emails and the like. This weekend I got a kind email from fellow blogger, Jamie Arpin-Ricci sharing his concern for me and my family and offering us some encouragement. I wrote him back and… Continue reading Ghandi, Job and the ghetto
Have you considered my servant, Erika…?
After a wonderful long weekend with Doug in downtown Chicago and a delightful (very full!) day on North Park’s campus, I was exhausted but joyful as I headed out the door of a nearby coffee shop with a young woman I had just met (thanks to this blog) the hour before. It was raining and… Continue reading Have you considered my servant, Erika…?
Does Sunday morning really matter?
There are many today who feel like the Sunday morning service has been overemphasized to the degree that the “show” each week has become what “church” means, as opposed to an actual vision of a transformed life of worship, fellowship and service together. There are many in my generation who have given up the whole… Continue reading Does Sunday morning really matter?
Quotation of the Week
Whatever my child may face in public school, I can assure you that none of it is subtle. On the other hand, the pernicious nature of the subconscious message of the exclusive private Christian school is the the message of upper-middle-class suburban Evangelicalism: materialism. Fourth-graders putting condoms on bananas OR materialism. Which one damages the… Continue reading Quotation of the Week
Forsaken
This morning I received an email from our Senior Lead Officer about the spike in gang violence this past week. A conflict between the Rolling 20’s (the gang that runs our street and the blocks north of us) and the Rolling 30’s (recently named one of L.A.’s “Top Ten Most Dangerous Gangs”) who control the… Continue reading Forsaken
In the world
Yesterday we went to the little park by our house. Mercy’s God-sister, Jessica, is here with us helping out for the week, and it was great to have the ability to get out of the house and to go outside and play. When we arrived at the park, we were greeted by the noise of… Continue reading In the world
Quotation of the Week
“If I cast up a confessed, repented, and forsaken sin against another, and allow my remembrance of that sin to color my thinking and feed my suspicions, then I know nothing of Calvary love… If my attitude be one of fear, not faith, about one who has disappointed me; if I say, ‘Just what I… Continue reading Quotation of the Week
Whose minister?
I always appreciate the things that William Willimon has to say, be they in his books, sermons, or now on his blog. In fact, of all the people that Doug has the opportunity to correspond with and meet in his position at Fuller, it was Willimon who I got most excited about (he is coming… Continue reading Whose minister?
The cost of a half-embrace
As I have mentioned here already, I am currently restricted from picking up my two children due to recovery from abdominal surgery. When I first received this mandate, my primary concern was logistical: how will we do meals and naps and how will we go outside to play? Those logistics remain challenging, but what has… Continue reading The cost of a half-embrace