It's time to roll out of Vegas. But before we do, there are some people to thank... To Duane. For suggesting something as audacious as church planting. To Mike. For showing us our first step. To Wayne. For asking if we ever thought about Las Vegas, for giving us our Jonah moment, and for being there when the fish spit us on shore. To Jim. For finding us--and all our friends--a place to live. To David, Ivonne and Sara. For trembling beside us on the front lines and giving us the …
Static
With each out-of-state move, every step of obedience--the discerning, the deciding, the doubling down--has gotten easier, save one. The uprooting has gotten harder, especially now that a double oven, mountain views and neighbors I’ve come to care about deeply are involved. Idolatry is a good shot. It nails me every time. The day the realtor shows up is the worst. Fists clenched and flesh screaming, my mood changes like a sky in December. Mid-tantrum, I hear him. Gently, no louder than a …
Phoenix Rising
When we closed Advance Church in August 2015, we knew the setback had the potential to be one of the greatest set ups of our lives; we just didn’t know for what. God had cards he wasn’t showing, and that was okay. This is Las Vegas, after all. Even so, there were days when it felt like he’d folded on us, tricked us, or both. But feelings are deceptive and, besides, we knew better. God doesn’t gamble; he gets us home. * The backstory of our upcoming move to Phoenix could fill a book, …
The Best 16 Books I Read In 2016
“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.” {Annie Dillard} I was intentionally quiet in 2016, reading more than writing while I waited for God to give me something new to say. Truth be told, after the beat down that was 2015 for our family, I needed some time to sit back and watch the dust go clear. As I did, I kept words close, starting more than 60 books and finishing 54. Of those, these 16 filled my breath most as I caught it. I hope they can do the same for you in …
4 Things I Learned This Summer
Here are a handful of things I learned this summer: 1. Audiobooks make everything better. The things I look forward to doing now because I have audiobooks on my phone is astonishing. They include, but are not limited to: Cleaning everything, cooking anything, getting ready in the morning (hair, makeup, make the bed, oh my!), riding in the car with my kids. For me, audiobooks have been a mood changer, a game changer and a life changer, amen. What I read on audio this summer: Wonder, …