What the book's about: A Good and Perfect Gift by Amy Julia Becker is a book about her daughter, Penny, and in particular, Penny's Down Syndrome diagnosis. It's a book about parenting and above all, it's a book about grace.
Why I...
At the conclusion of my junior year in college, I studied abroad in Moscow, Russia. Despite the fact that at the time, Russia was safe, to my parents – who came of age during the Cold War – Russia was a very scary place. The idea of their daughter...
Once you've translated your dreams into numbers, the next step in crafting your budget proposal is to determine where your ministry's budget will come from. Typically, youth ministries derive their budget from a combination of three sources:
-...
This fall, my high school teens and I have been discussing various “isms”. On the first week of this series, we wrestled with materialism, using the story of Jesus and the rich young ruler to do so. In this story, a rich young ruler asks Jesus...
After you've let your dreams percolate, the next step in crafting your budget proposal is to translate your dreams into actual numbers.
To do this, go back through your lists, paying particular attention to your answers to this question: What...
One of my early church memories is participating in my church's pony express giving campaign – a campaign in which a saddlebag was passed from home to home along with stories about our church's ministries and our pledge cards. Families were then...
Twice since returning from maternity leave, I've attended work conferences with my infant daughter, Hope. The first time, Hope was two months old; The second time, she was five months old. After the first go-round, I instagrammed the picture...
On a recent call with Alan Roxburgh, author of Structured for Mission, I heard Al say two really compelling things. First, people are no longer hardwired to go to church like they once were. Second, given this changing culture, those of us who...
While attending a remembrance about the ongoing atrocities occurring in the Congo, my husband and I attended our friend, Emile's, Congolese church.
One of the things I vividly remember about that worship service was the young children. There were...
The other day, a teen walked into our youth room. Another student immediately grew excited and exclaimed, “Oh great! It's the funny kid!”
I'm pretty sure the funny kid didn't hear this other teen and for that I'm thankful. I responded by greeting...