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But if you say no?
I didn’t have to say yes to Guatemala. God would have loved me just the same. But I said no last year. This year I wanted to try something different. (Thanks for wrecking my world, Alene!) So with my...
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Don’t take my word for it
It’s one thing to learn the rules of a game; . . . it’s another thing to play it. It’s one thing to read a book about another culture; . . . it’s another thing to befriend a person who lives in it....
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Don’t look away
We can never make a difference if we don’t first notice. “We are probably deluged with more images of pain than any previous generation; they are beamed into our homes nightly on the evening news. It...
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5 things I learned from the Dalai Lama
BACKGROUND: My One Word for 2014 is Compassion. Jesus is the ultimate example of compassion. Through his followers I see examples of compassion daily. None of that surprises me. But I’ve learned about...
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Are you prejudiced?
Are you racist? Don’t automatically answer, “No!” Maybe you’re not prejudiced towards blacks or whites. But maybe you are toward Baptists or gays or “white trash.” Or men over 60 or loud women or...
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Compassion for an enemy?
This last lesson is the hardest. I’m not sure I even need it. Until a message pops up on my phone. My friend tells me she’s having a tough day, feeling excluded from family. I hear the pain in her...
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7 lessons from one word: Compassion
“I told her to do something unexpected: go where there is pain. ‘If you want to discover your purpose,’ I explained, “then you need to hang out in places where there is brokenness.’ ” - Jeff Goins,...
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A scroll of compassion
We still had an hour before we could hear the Dalai Lama speak, so we entered the white tent outside Regions Field to kill some time. It turned out to be a mini-bazaar of Tibetan artwork. We watched...
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5 ways to really sympathize in a sympathy card
After my parents died a few years ago, going to the mailbox became a highlight of my day. I treasured every expression of kindness I received there. In this age of Facebook condolences (which are...
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You must read this one –“Just Mercy”
Maybe it’s because he walked free on Good Friday after nearly 30 years on Death Row. Maybe it’s because it’s a story in my home state of Alabama. And maybe it’s because I read Just Mercy in January....
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Find the weird one
Darryl (not his real name) never comes to the door when we knock. He just yells, “Come in!” Once a week Kay and I wheel our cart of meals to his floor of the public housing apartments for the...
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Get in the arena this Advent – Be vulnerable
{Thoughts for Advent and from Brené Brown’s book, Rising Strong} If you haven’t read this 1910 excerpt about the man in the arena from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Citizenship in a Republic” speech, read it...
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It’s ugly out there
It’s getting uglier out there. Have you noticed, too? Online stands and rants and counter-attacks. Blow-ups and boil-overs and arousing each other’s anger. We’re raising hell, alright. But is that what...
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When to break the rules
Some people have the gift. Some don’t. Fran does. She runs Manna House, a food distribution center. (Well, she and God—she gives God all the credit so God gets all the glory.) When the poor and...
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Blur your lines—Giver or receiver?
Givers. Receivers. We often divide these up into two camps. As good Christian boys and girls, we know which side of the line belongs to us: Be a giver. It’s the right thing to do. Until it’s not. When...
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“Welcome”– Have I failed at my One Word already?
I chose “Welcome.” I wanted to intentionally be open to whatever happens next. To accept my circumstances with contentment (even while working to change them as needed). Then she rings the doorbell....
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Your advice + The Guest House
When I whined on Monday about my pain and lack of self-compassion, you all gave such wonderful advice in the comments. Thank you. Your words are worth repeating. I release them back into the world for...
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How to Raise a Godly Child
We were gathered around our friends’ dinner table when the question was asked: What advice would you give on how to raise a godly child? We all had raised or were still raising kids. So we threw out...
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Here to heal – and La’Porsha’s story from American Idol
But in the real world that lies beyond all this, we all have the same job: to minister to human hearts. All of us are here as ministers of God. – Marianne Williamson We were lying in bed, catching up...
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Stop the Humiliation and Restore the Dignity
Who Is Your Person? There is someone in your life right now that needs something you can give. It’s dignity. Maybe this person messed up in a big way, or maybe they just hurt your feelings. Maybe it’s...
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