The helicopters have been relentless for the past twenty-four hours. It started yesterday with a high-speed chase ending a few block from our house. I had been out walking with the kids with my neighbor and her daughter, and minutes after coming home the noise of hovering helicopters became deafening. I turned on the TV… Continue reading The urban soundtrack
Category: South Central
Get your Margarita somewhere else
Our big prayer request going into the hearing on Monday was that God would move in a powerful way before the hearing even took place. I realized on Monday how slow I can be to believe that God will actually choose to answer prayers like that. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Pablo’s legal… Continue reading Get your Margarita somewhere else
Slingshots and liquor stores
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak at our sister church in Pasadena. It is always wonderful to be with these extraordinary people who have made our mission here a significant part of their own mission as a church. I am always blessed when I have the chance to be with them. I shared with… Continue reading Slingshots and liquor stores
License to sell
Last night we had out first gathering for weekly prayer for our street. It was great to come together around the purpose of lifting our neighbors and our neighborhood up in prayer, and I am hopeful for how we will see God work in response. We prayed for specific families, for specific buildings, for peace… Continue reading License to sell
Busy signal
Yesterday we were walking home from our friends’ house when we suddenly found ourselves in a dangerous situation. Two guys in two cars were street racing, flying down the street where we were walking at terribly high speeds, racing through intersections without stopping, and doing doughnuts in those intersections. They were driving like insane people,… Continue reading Busy signal
Things are never black and white
On our way home from the park yesterday, we ran into an old friend who lives around the corner from us. This friend was standing outside of his house holding a beautiful baby boy. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, and we were so excited to meet his new son. The baby is… Continue reading Things are never black and white
Expectation: Things are going to get worse
I had a good heart to heart with one of my neighbors yesterday. We were discussing some recent events on our street that are causes for concern. They involve some new tenants in one of the apartment buildings, and the return of two young men from jail after time served for their most recent run… Continue reading Expectation: Things are going to get worse
P.W.B. (Parking while black)
Mercy and Doug had an early dinner together last night while Aaron and I made a much-needed trip to the grocery. I forgot how wonderfully simple grocery shopping with one child is: one set of needs to be aware of; one child to talk to and laugh with while picking out produce; one set of… Continue reading P.W.B. (Parking while black)
Remembering Jennie
On Monday of this week, a very dear woman in our congregation passed away. Her death was sudden and unexpected, though her body had been battling a series of health challenges for some time. All of us were devastated at the news and struck by the reality that when it comes to the gift of… Continue reading Remembering Jennie
A walk in the park
The other day, Doug accidentally took our garage key with him to work. This had the grave consequence that I was not able to access our double stroller that we keep stored in Paul’s garage. By mid-afternoon, the kids and I were going crazy cooped up in the house, and I just didn’t feel up… Continue reading A walk in the park