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Lily was one of my first friends here in St. Petersburg after we moved here. She was Evie’s kindergarten teacher. The way I know Evie is bonding with someone is that she comes home and when we are just hanging around the house she tells me stories that person has shared with her or has […]
The thing with so many Christian books and podcasts and influencers targeting middle/upper-class women/men talking about YOU do YOU, and pressing into what God’s called YOU to, and YOU pursuing YOUR God-sized dreams… is that in order to tackle the wicked systems of oppression and to surprise the world with the subversive ways of Jesus… […]
In honor of #WorldDownSyndromeDay I wanted to share a few thoughts about sharing life thus far with two amazing people who are rocking their extra chromosome. 1. Abel and Isla are the heart and glue to our family togetherness. It’s really hard to explain honestly, but they just are. There is rarely a day that goes by […]
What if we renamed MISSON trips to DISCIPLESHIP trips? I think it would help on so many levels. 1. It would communicate that we were going to LEARN and receive: even if what we were doing was some type of work, the purpose of it would be to grow in our own faith and knowledge […]
After my facebook post recently inquiring about authors and influencers that friends have experienced to be problematic at best and abusive at worst. A LOT of discussions was had regarding Spiritual Abuse. Many stories were shared, and there are all sorts of levels of grief and trauma being acknowledged, named, and processed. Here is a […]
Being a politically homeless upside down Kingdom driven gal means that I’m lamenting and angry over the wall rhetoric and immigration policies AND also over the newly passed reproductive rights bill. But that doesn’t mean that I check out of politics. Because politics are about people. I love the quote by Eugene Peterson that says […]
Ya’ll…. how has it been 3 years since I’ve featured my all-time favorite baking items?? I know you might be thinking… are the Chappell’s adopting again? And while we never know if God has more Chappells in store for us, right now we are really pressing into our family of 8 and letting God sustain […]
Last year my friends and I engaged in a robust conversation on Facebook that you can read HERE regarding THIS post. (See also, THIS post, THIS post, and THIS post and THIS post I feel also apply, even though some aren’t directly talking about OCC) These posts focus on the western mindset and at times […]
This photo was taken 5 years ago to the day. This was the first time I held Abel in my arms. The first time I laid eyes on my new son. The first time we fell head over heels in love with this child! But let me tell you something about what made this moment […]
By Monica Orjuela: For the majority of my life I could not communicate with an entire side of my family as they did not speak English and I did not speak Spanish. And I know I’m not the only one. I see so many first generation Americans growing up completely disconnected from their culture partly […]
Dan: He is ALWAYS reading, researching, studying something. He passed his Ph.D. comps last fall and is in the prep stage of putting together his dissertation. He is writing about the life and leadership of Dr. John Perkins and his model of leadership when it comes to marginalized communities and community development. He loves heading […]
In honor of #WorldDownSyndromeDay I wanted to share a few thoughts about sharing life thus far with two amazing people who are rocking their extra chromosome. Abel and Isla are the heart and glue to our family togetherness. It’s really hard to explain honestly, but they just are. There is rarely a day that goes […]
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Do your 2018 goals involve $$$$$$? When you are pursuing your financial goals in 2018 and you are reading books, or going to conferences, developing your marketing mentality, or taking advice from Christian financial leaders, Be sure to ask yourself: – Do they equate financial gain with God’s blessing? – Is it assumed that […]
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The days between Christmas and New years can be delightfully restful but they can also be a week that feels like you don’t know what day it is, who you are or what you’re supposed to be doing!! This year was like that for me…. it was such a strange feeling week. BUT if you’re […]
Someone asked me recently what it has cost us in speaking up for, standing up with, and moving closer to marginalized communities, hard places, and systems broken by injustice and challenging the Church to run towards them with eyes wide open instead of away (which too often in our fearful nature and American mindsets we […]
We survived our first 3 hour IEP meeting the other day. Whew! I can’t say enough about the kindness and knowledge that Jack’s team has shown to us. We were all sitting in a conference room of a school where we have poured our heart and tears into the past year, and they shared with […]
Never in a thousand years would I imagine I would be the mom waking up and getting 4 kids ready to go to public school…. a Title I transformation zone public school at that. I used to think public schooling moms didn’t want to be around their kids. I used to pity families who sent […]
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Believing family, church members, christian leaders, close friends…. Sometimes it feels like you are withdrawing your relationship with certain believers in your life in hopes that they will change their tune, or not talk so much about controversial issues, or you are truly concerned for their walk with the Lord due to differences you are […]
The other day a friend posted a question in a support group for mom’s with a child who has Down syndrome… “What are some hurtful things people have said regarding your child with Down syndrome?” Here were some of the over 500 responses: “He must not have a bad case of it, you must really […]
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