It startled me the first time it happened. It was a Wednesday night my freshman year of college at the musty-smelling YMCA behind my dorm where the collegiate ministry I was involved in met for weekly worship and teaching. We milled around afterward in small groups, scuffing our feet on the thin, dingy carpet, laughing easy, procrastinating ...
The Lord said to Abram: “Go out from your land, your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” . . . So, Abram went, as the Lord had told him. Genesis 12:1, 4 (CSB) Twenty-six. That’s the number of different homes I lived in before I was thirty years old. Sometimes moving meant to a new house in the same town, but ...
For years, (in)courage has been known as a place to "find yourself among friends." We've spent a good amount of time focusing on friendship. You've shared your stories and we've shared ours. We've mostly laughed together but also shed a few tears. You've told us about your friendship successes and your friendship break-ups. We've tackled this hard, ...
I stood in an Ethiopian church in London, England in July. The city -- famous for its grey skies and rainy weather -- was in the centre of a heat wave. And let me tell you, it was hot. The church was small and not air-conditioned. Small fans whirred at the front, near the stage. Perspiration dribbled down my back. “Why am I here, God?” I prayed ...
“It’s hard to find community,” they say. I sit across from them at Starbucks or at my dining table and listen to them share about the difficulty of finding people they connect with, people with whom they can build solid friendships and grow together in faith. “They” have been college students, single young adults, and married couples. “They” have ...
The room was quiet. Evening was coming, and the last rays of sunlight were fading into darkness. But I didn't bother to turn on a light. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to muffle my sobs. One of the worst depressive episodes I had experienced was looming over me, the darkness pressing down like a heavy, black fog. The reasons for it were ...
Last week, in preparation for my upcoming book, Glorious Weakness: Discovering God In All We Lack, I opened up book launch team applications. One of the questions was simply, "Why do you want to be on Alia’s launch team?" I read the answers with tears of joy because even though writing this book often felt like it cost me everything, I’m ...
In the years between the momentous day a tiny, helpless infant enters your world and the emotional day when your child — now a young man or young woman — strikes off on their own, it’s not only the child who will grow and transform, but the mother too. Some stages of parenthood are more physical, like the sleep-deprivation of new motherhood or ...
I sat in shock, listening. Someone I considered to be a friend had been upset with me for months, and she had been talking about me with a couple of mutual friends. We had served together on a large ministry leadership team at our church for years. Both of us had volunteered countless hours pouring our hearts and our lives into the women of our ...
From the inner city of Austin, Texas to Pennsylvania Amish Country, we're taking you on a virtual tour across the country and shining the spotlight on two more of our amazing (in)courage contributors — Michelle Reyes and Sarah Mae. We know you love reading their monthly articles here at (in)courage, but even more you would love sitting across ...
