Amidst the shelter at home quarantine, I received a very interesting question via my Instagram. Even though it’s been months and we're all in different parts of the country with varying plans for re-opening, many will ponder different aspects of her vulnerable question. “Jen, I know you are passionate about creating community and biblical ...
This summer will be different. It already is, isn't it? Parks and pools and beaches are closed. We may be distancing from our most vulnerable friends and family members. Our kids finished school at home, and now many of their summer camps and programs are cancelled. The world is still in tender turmoil. We've never had a season like this before, ...
Over a decade ago I sat in front of my computer staring at a blank screen, trying to decide what to say. Finally, the words came to me, and I wrote, “Be courageous and write in a way that scares you a little.” I’d spent the last few months dreaming and planning with my (in)courage co-founder Stephanie Bryant and now the site was almost ready to ...
Six new baby kittens were born on our Iowa farm, down in the shed, next to an old TV set that hasn’t worked in years. I like to think of our newborn kittens as accidental therapists. I’m often in need of a mood adjustment, so I come out to the shed several times a day and creak open the door, certain that I’ll find my smile somewhere inside. ...
You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5 (NIV) When our children wake up in terror at night over a bad dream, when death comes to take our loved ones away, when depression overwhelms like a heavy blanket, we want to be held. We want to have someone rub our backs and hold our hands. It's a comfort to be ...
Sadness. Anger. Heaviness. Confusion. Fatigue. This is what we've been feeling recently. This is what we've been hearing when we ask friends how they're doing. Processing what's happening in our world right now isn't easy, and we're guessing you're wading through a tumultuous sea of emotions too. For many of us, there's also a feeling of ...
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, and my enemy will say, “I have overcome ...
This past week a memorial service was held for George Floyd, a forty-six-year-old image bearer of God, who died after a police officer put a knee to his neck for almost nine minutes while he was handcuffed face down. Friends and neighbors affirmed that “Big Floyd” was a man of God with a heart of mercy for the most vulnerable. Floyd’s death has ...
I’m almost embarrassed to admit what prompted me to set foot in a grocery store again after two months of home delivery. It wasn’t increased feelings of security about entering public places or statistics about a decrease in COVID-19 cases in my area. It was queso -- pure and simple. The queso my family loves doesn’t appear on Costco’s site ...
My friend had dropped off a little orchid plant for me. It's so tiny, the vase and plant only stand seven inches tall. I've never bought orchids for myself before, so I was amazed seeing how the petals just stay open and don't fall off like they do on peonies or roses I usually get. "Look, guys!" I said to my husband and two boys, eleven and ...
