I always knew growing up that I was adopted, but I didn’t understand what it really meant until I was in 7th grade when my mom and I would sit on the couch into the late hours of the night and I would ask her question after question. My mom was limited on what she knew, but the one thing she always circled back to was reminding me that my birth mom did what she did because she loved me and wanted the best life possible for me. Through these conversations, Mom supported me to one day meet [...]

For many years, I went to the Starbucks in Highland Village six days a week. Sunday morning adrenaline seemed to take care of my energy level, but Monday through Saturday, you would find me there, reading and drinking coffee for an hour or so. Because I was such a regular, I came to know the other folks who were just as faithful, and over the years, I started calling them my “Starbucks friends.” One morning, the handsome dad of a beautiful family (one of my SF) came over to me and said, “We have a piece of art [...]

Note: Jiggers are parasites with health implications. The social stigma that comes with them is crippling to those who are infected. Sole Hope makes a difference by providing shoes that offer protection for vulnerable children. Samuel Samuel lives in a village called Bujagali. He’s seen his community fall on hard times. He’s seen his brothers and sisters get so many jiggers (parasites that enter bare feet) they could barely walk to school. In fact, he knew of very little outside his own village. Until Sole Hope picked up Samuel and his sibling for medical treatement in their clinic, [...]

We stood in the River Jordan, along with hundreds of other pilgrims from around the world who came to the Jordan to be baptized or remember their baptisms.  We read the verses from Mark, in which Jesus is baptized by John.  We prayed together, asking God’s blessing on the water and on us gathered together.  And we recalled together what baptism means: 1. It is a sign of God’s grace, something God does rather than something we do. God chose us before we chose God. That is why we don’t actually rebaptize; God didn’t mess it up the [...]

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” Rev. 7:9 As Bonnie Hellums was walking down the hall of the church a couple of Sundays ago, she happened to hear a woman, with a foreign accent, asking a church greeter how to find the Encounter Service. The lady was there with a little boy. Bonnie said she was going to the service and would be glad to show them where it was. On the [...]

My husband Seann and I have two kids: James is almost four and our daughter Sara is seven months. We are both pastors, and two years ago we moved—we were sent from the church where we had been on staff together, to serve in new places. When we were leaving, one of the families gave us a book: Double Dip Feelings. It’s a collection of vignettes to help children understand emotions. But, just like the children’s messages here are for the children, but also for you, the book was for our son, but also for us. It goes [...]