From an article originally posted April 1, 2014…

Dear Grace in Today,

Today I woke too early in pain and struggled to find the joy in the pain that woke me, that often wakes me. Cramps and now new sores that cover my mouth woke my sleeping, and maybe a kick in the back from the littlest that came into my bed last night. Then a quiet call came from down the hall and I knew this day was going to not be what I expected. I had planned a home teaming with families: 45 people big and small to be exact. Today we were welcoming a new pastor to our Westside family and meeting over a simple lunch with all of our leaders. But that quiet, small voice let me know You were directing my day differently.

From an article originally posted March 27, 2014…

Why is the God with us such a hard concept to embrace? I would say it is strength that keeps God at a distance from us. Then when strength is taken, removed, shaken—then we beg for God to be with us. Until then, we keep him at a safe distance, because we simply don’t want to be interrupted, questioned, or asked much of in our daily living. We want God in our lives, but simply when we are asked to walk through a fire, in desperation, in brokenness.

From an article originally posted March 17, 2014…

In the agony of waiting, you do the next thing. Whatever it is, you simply go through the motion. You look for peace, name grace, and simply try to get through each day. This last season of tests was particularly hard as we had one result of positive cancer and had to wait on my brain to hear the next answer, and we were prepared for the last answer. We put food in front of our people, we read books, and we tried our best at each new thing.