• Periphery Joy

    With September in full swing, my family put up our fall stuff recently. Every time a new season comes around, I say it’s my favorite, but there truly is something magical about fall. And I love when the inside of our house transforms with the coziness of fall colors. I have a few pumpkin decorations with candle openings, but since having kids, I’ve chosen to forgo the candles in them for the past few years,…

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  • They Are Leading Now

    Across the Midwest Conference of the ECC, young people are asking significant questions: How has God made me? Where are my gifts needed? What might God be inviting me to do? At the same time, the church is asking questions of its own. Nearly half of active Covenant pastors will reach retirement age within the next decade. Who are the leaders God is raising up? How will we recognize them, encourage them and prepare them?…

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  • inspirational words on violet background

    Brutal Honesty

    In a world where we can edit, filter, and delete so much of who we are in our online presence, I think we tend to carry that same expectation into our everyday realities. When we feel something like jealousy come up, we quickly tuck it away and try to shift to a different emotion or adjust to an entirely different experience. Or we feel discomfort when anger starts to simmer, and we try to ignore…

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  • An Oasis of Connection in Fort Collins

    The Oasis Ministries, based in Fort Collins, CO, is an outreach ministry that strives to connect people to Jesus, both locally and internationally. The ministry launched in April 2017, with non-profit status coming just a few months later in July. Our focus is on three spheres: 1) previous established relationships, 2) neighborhood, and 3) public spaces. Our joy is to give people the time they need to talk, process, and discover how God has been at…

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  • child playing with broom

    Easier and Better

    I go in and out of phases where I enjoy reading parenting books. I’m back in one and I’ve come across author Abbie Halberstadt, a Christian mother of 10 kiddos who has written several books. One of her books that caught my eye that I’ve read through is Hard is Not the Same Thing as Bad: The Perspective Shift that Could Change the Way You Mother. Now, if you’re not a mom, stick with me…

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