Nonconforming

This note from our sister Paige Weston makes me want to slow down and read Wendell Berry’s poem again and again. I hope it blesses you as well. -Renée I think often about the instruction in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your

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Showing Up

I’ve been searching for signs of spring. Slim purple crocus, not yet open. Faint and fuzzy buds on the trees, promising foliage for summer shade. I am looking for evidence of God. Not just in nature, but in the people around me. As we pray together, I hold their hands and ask for God’s presence

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Opportunity Knocking

Mississippi is on my mind. It’s spring break, the season of Habitat trips to the Delta, where the seeds of Spring Initiative after-school-and-so-much-more-program germinated. Teenagers who built houses in our nation’s poorest counties are now hard-working adults in their thirties. They’ve devoted their lives to empowering young people in the Mississippi Delta to beat the odds, access the

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Our Father

Everybody prays. Is this true? I wonder. Hypocrites pray. Gentiles pray. Observant Jews going about their ordinary jobs before they were summoned to follow Jesus. They obviously prayed. Children pray and teachers pray. People of all religions, and no religion, pray. “Our Father who is in heaven,” Matthew 6:9(CEB) Jesus has just instructed his followers to

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Lining Up Last

I used to spend Thursdays in Farmer City, IL. Thirty minutes west, the sun rising in my rearview mirror. Kindergartners greeted me with hugs around my legs, “Miz Trozio! Do we have you today?” At Schneider Elementary, I taught “guidance,” incorporating literature & art into K-3rd classroom lessons about conflict resolution, celebrating differences, and managing emotions of

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Our Discussions

“What are you arguing about?” An ordinary and fascinating question. Who asks? Who tells? In families, in work places, in organizations, in churches. What is the tone? How does it make you feel? I am surprised to hear Jesus asking. Twice in Mark 9: “What are you arguing about?” Jesus came down from the mountain, where he

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Who Brought the Bread?

Sometimes I am prepared. I know what is needed, and I have the clarity and energy to get it done. Other times, I feel like the disciples when they forgot to bring bread. Suddenly we are out in the middle of the sea and have only one loaf between us.  Who has the spiritual gift

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Hearing God

Stefan Mustain grew up at New Covenant; he told us this story a few years ago on a visit home, and it has stuck with me ever since. May it also encourage and inspire you. –Renée In 2010, I was under constant stress to perform what was virtually impossible, given the market conditions of my job

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A Way Out

This poem was written by Vic Fein after his bypass surgery in late 2017, following which he was having regular panic attacks. A way to find relief was when he would seek Jesus’ presence. May his words speak a truth we need to hear. –Renée A WAY OUT
 I need something, something to divert my mind.It keeps

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Reality Check

Crowds are not my thing. I get lost in the sea of people who seem cooler than I. Sometimes I remember who I am and stay centered. I see people who love their kid. Like I do. I am open to conversations with strangers. We find commonalities and connections. But it doesn’t come naturally.  We

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