July 12th Countdown for Hannah & Derick

   Happy 9 Months!  This was a reflection from Holy Week from Maundy Thursday. May your love for one another reflect this same kind of upside-down grace—the kind that serves, forgives, and stays close even in the hard moments. May you keep choosing one another with open hearts, again and again. The Upside-Down Kingdom In the ancient world, foot washing was the job reserved for the lowest servant in the household. Just picture it. The roads were unpaved and dusty. Sandals were basically ancient Birkenstocks. And everyone was unclean—both metaphorically and literally. And yet here is Jesus—the one the disciples call Lord—on the floor with a basin and towel. Peter protests immediately. Of course he does. The whole scene feels wrong. Teachers are not supposed to wash the feet of their students. And certainly not the feet of the ones who will betray, deny, and abandon him before the night is over. But Jesus insists. Because this is the shape of the kingdom of God. This upside-...

Happy 12th to you both!!  This video is so fabulous-  may it bring you some encouragement and  may you both help me each other experience God's love  more fully in the coming days.... 

  Happy 7 Month Anniversary!! (and Happy Almost Valentine's Day!)    "Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that ."(Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG) " Watch what God does. " I sat with that phrase for a while and out of the waiting came that famous line from the Gospel of John:  God so loves the world . God loves the world, every blade of grass, every hidden aquifer, every grunt and squeal of creatures, every swirl of snow, every life on Flight 752, every heron sweeping low over the waters, every kid who goes to sleep worried about something, every hunk of bread and glass of wine, every polluted lake, every burning bush, every lullaby that we sing. All of it, all...

    And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. —1 Corinthians 13.13 Loving is always risky, because we cannot enter into it without being changed. Altered. Transformed. In the face of this, we might well ask,  Do I really want this?  Do we really desire to be so undone? Loving is never just about opening our heart. It is about being willing to have our heart become larger as we make room for people and stories and experiences we never imagined holding. It is about being willing to have our heart become deeper as we move beyond the surface layers of our assumptions, prejudices, and habits in order to truly see and receive what—and who—is before us. It is about being willing to have our heart continually shattered and remade as we take in not only the brokenness of the world but also the beauty of it, the astounding wonder that will not allow us to remain the same. Blessing That Meets You in Love It is true that every blessing ...

HAPPY 5 MONTH ANNIVERSARY TO YOU BOTH!  and cheers to your first Christmas together just around the corner! Christmas time can be magical, but it is also a VERY busy time of year that can bring a lot of stress (the push to holiday break is real for teachers!). As I was reflecting on Matthew 3:1-12 last week, I wrote this reflection below.... May you experience the gift of Emmanuel wherever you find yourself this season... and may you keep turning towards one another and to God through it all.  Advent is the season to hear John calling out— Repent. Change your thinking. Turn around. Come home to God. He says, “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” Not just words, but a life that tastes like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control— fruit that brings shalom in the brokenness of our world.  Jesus, we need you to come— to sweep the corners, clear the decks, till the soil, so that there is space to grow. O come, O com...

   Dear Hannah and Derick,  A message appeared on my phone Monday afternoon from my friend whom I met working at Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp in 1991 (the summer after my freshman year in college). I was delighted to see his name on my phone, but when I called him back, his voice was somber. He said he wished he was calling with good news, but he was calling because our beloved friend Ron had died of a sudden heart attack Sunday evening when he was going for a run. While I have not seen Ron in a number of years, we still texted and emailed every so often. This is a text I got in the spring of 2024 that is especially poignant in this moment:  Every so often I enjoy a late afternoon latte on a chilly MN afternoon. The added dose of espresso provides good closure to any given day with some complimentary energy towards the evening ahead.   This week, while ordering a latte at one of my local favorite gathering spots, I uncharacteristically added another “shot” t...