There is a little yellow strip of paper taped to my desk in my office that reads, “Don’t give up.” It has been there for years on the very edge, oriented so that it’s legible to every person standing across from me as they walk in my door. When I first started working with middle …
The 2020 Blog Post
That evening, Jesus said to his followers, “Come with me across the lake.” A very bad wind came up on the lake. The waves were coming over the sides and into the boat, and it was almost full of water. Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went …
Making Space
We had our first two days of school last week and I spent the whole beginning of the week shopping and decorating my little office. Office is a generous word, it’s actually an over-sized closet that requires you to walk through double doors, down a handful of steps, and through the old wood shop …
A Guideline to Second-Hand Trauma: For the People Following Jesus Right Into Suffering
“......just working through some of the picked up trauma I’ve recognized in myself after the last five years of hearing and carrying lots of broken stories.” That was a portion of a response to a text message from a friend asking me how I was doing. Her response was: “‘Are you gonna write …
Enough
Today one of my eighth grade students walked into my classroom, Nikki, there’s something I have to tell you. I turned and looked at her, this jagged-edged, too-grown-up, thirteen-year-old, and waited. The principal called me into her office during science and said we had to look for different schools for me and they’re going to …
Boring Bravery: Choosing to Stay
Once, I left home for nine months with a group of complete strangers to live in countries and communities I’d never been to surrounded by languages I didn’t speak. And people called it brave. Once, I went out every night to a red light district in Thailand and tried to build relationships with women …
The Welcoming Committee
“Hey there, Miss Ali*. Could you help me with something today?” She bounced up out of her seat and met me at the door of her classroom sporting her usual crooked glasses, shoulder-length brown hair, and a sparkly pink t-shirt complete with worn cowboy boots that have never seen a horse. “Sure, Nikki!” …
The Vision: Peace in the Midst of Chaos
“Write the vision and make it clear. For there is still a vision for the appointed time: It speaks of the end; it does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay.” -Habbakuk 2:2-3 Come here. Come on. Come. Jesus woke me up …
Embracing Brokenness
As we sat at the tea party and listened to one of our volunteers speak about his experience with foster care and sexual abuse I watched one of my twelve-year-old campers nod her head continously, completely engaged and hanging on every word. When the speaker shared about not wanting to talk about his experience because …
A Grieving God
Last week I sat in the car with two Jesus-loving people. Their devotion that morning had consisted of a statement: “God allows all things.” I listened for a moment to them debating about whether or not they believed that statement. Taking into consideration the full blow of it. Weighing what it truly means. Talking about cancer …
dépaysement 