A Spiritual Lesson From the Salamanders
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A Spiritual Lesson From the Salamanders

Over Christmas break, after the brutal winter storm gave way to unseasonal warmth, my sister and I made a clandestine visit to the property where we lived during our teen years. We were looking for the freshwater spring where, every day, no matter the weather, the two of us filled jugs with cold water and…

When Writing Goes Wrong: Why our obsession with creative productivity is soul-killing
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When Writing Goes Wrong: Why our obsession with creative productivity is soul-killing

By Kaya Oakes In the early part of June, I participated in an online writing workshop that had been pushed from an in person meeting onto Zoom due to the pandemic. After a year of online teaching, online spiritual direction, online therapy, online entertainment, online church  and online hangouts with friends and family, I should…

The familiar, the new and discernment for daily living
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The familiar, the new and discernment for daily living

I’ve been wondering: is anything ever totally new? Some say that every seven years we have new bodies — all new cells. The saying, though, is a myth: brain cells aren’t replaced; we keep them our entire lifetimes. No matter what’s new, and no matter what’s familiar, when our world shifts and moves, how do we…

The beauty of brokenness
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The beauty of brokenness

An old building in disrepair, collapsing toward the ground. A rusting, defective car, stuck in layers of mud. Shattered glass. Melting candle. Cracked eggshells. Chipped ceramics. The sight of the simplest crack in a sidewalk can still my body, stun my soul. The colors and textures of a simple, broken branch can inspire poetry. It may…

Bread, art and a kindergarten heart
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Bread, art and a kindergarten heart

  “NO! I HATE this part of the bread! I won’t eat it!” My daughter had just realized that her peanut butter and honey toast was made with an “all-crust” heel piece. To a five-year-old who has never known true crisis, this realization is nothing short of devastating—on par with candy-less valentines and cake batter-scented (but NOT flavored)…

Ugandan faith lesson #1: always room at the inn
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Ugandan faith lesson #1: always room at the inn

Faith lessons from my Ugandan family Editor’s note: This is the first blog post in the five-part series “Faith lessons from my Ugandan family” by Messy Jesus Business guest contributor/Rabble Rouser Nicole Steele Wooldridge about her experiences in Mbale, Uganda. Stay tuned throughout this week to experience the next four installments of Nicole’s faith lessons…