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I'm so grateful I get to participate in creative, entrepreneurial ministry. AND - it comes with certain difficulties. One is the gift and challenge of constantly shifting between different ideas. One practice I've found so helpful when trying to plan the next thing is to see where I can join God where God is already at work. This goes for all of us. We don't always need to come up with something innovative and new, where the pressure is all on us. Instead - we ask God for the

In 2004, Green Day released their album American Idiot. One of the tracks was called "Wake Me Up When September Ends." The song did really well in the charts, and was thought to address "a generation disillusioned by a period of tumultuous events" according to American Songwriter. But on an even more personal level, the song was written by the band's singer Billie Joe Armstrong to recall events around losing his father at an early age. In September, we talked about the import

The ironic thing about the Earth, Wind, and Fire song "September," which asks us "do you remember, the 21st night of September," is that there isn't clarity among the band about what happened on this significant evening. While some reports say it was just rhythmically the right vibes, there is also another story reported. The song was written by the band’s vocalist, Maurice White and songwriter Allee Willis. According to the Consequence of Sound, "Willis recalls being recogni

Oh how I love September! It's my birthday month, and autumn is (hopefully) just around the corner. It is also the time we all strike up "September" by Earth, Wind, & Fire - Do you remember The 21st night of September? Love was changin' the minds of pretenders While chasin' the clouds away... I'm not gonna lie - I'm ready for September - love - and chasing clouds away. And I'll sub out the 21st for the 24th for my own lyrics - now I'm ready for this month! This song always mak

Micah 6:8 says: God has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. What does it mean to love mercy? If you look at different translations, the word 'mercy' is also translated as kindness, lovingkindness, compassion, faithfulness, constant love, and more. The book of Micah comes from the Hebrew, and the word there is חֶ֔סֶד, which is hesed. Like so many Hebrew words, hesed

It is August and we are all so back! New plans abound again for so many of us, and although it is definitely still summer (and will feel like it for many more weeks here in Atlanta!), we are marking the beginning of fall schedules. Just like New Year's Day, this is a time for so many of us to make refreshed resolutions, commitments to new projects, and dedication to new practical steps to make our lives better. But how? When there are a lot of things swirling in life, and the

Years ago I was a youth minister and our group was invited to go tubing down the river. I'm not much of a water person, and I have more than one tale about an ill fated trip down the river - but I always tried to keep those fears to myself. And, after all, this wasn't white water rafting. It was a gentle float in inner tubes. Simple. Well for once, it was not me that had a particularly rough day. Another adult friend of mine had one thing wrong after another. Nothing was goin

In 1983, Madonna's first song to hit the Billboard Top 100 was "Holiday." The song has an interesting history of how it landed with Madonna, but it became incredibly popular and helped skyrocket her career. The lyrics, written by Curtis Hudson and Lisa Stevens-Crowder, were simple: If we took a holiday Took some time to celebrate Just one day out of life It would be, it would be so nice Everybody, spread the word We're gonna have a celebration All across the world In every na

I imagine putting my hand out of the car window and allowing my fingers to rise and fall in the breeze. It feels like such a moment of relaxation, to feel that flow. Headspace has this to say: You may have experienced a flow state at some point — that sense of fluidity between your body and mind, where you are totally absorbed by and deeply focused on something, beyond the point of distraction. Time feels like it has slowed down. Your senses are heightened. You are at one wit

Finally... Summer. You made it. The question is... will anything change for you? Or will this "lighter season" be just another over scheduled season with less structure? In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." How are you experiencing weariness in your life? Where are you bone tired? Where do you need to rest? Or perhaps you're in a space of rest, with plans in place, or with no plans in place - just ready for

In 1981, Queen and David Bowie released "Under Pressure." In his article "The True Story Behind Queen with David Bowie, 'Under Pressure,'"Jim Beviglia writes that the song almost didn't happen, "yet the song somehow married the best traits of these wildly disparate artists to create a huge success." Beviglia goes on to argue, "You can hear the song as a kind of battle of wills between the two men [David Bowie and Freddie Mercury], or at least the characters that they were pla

Whew - May. This month is for many the most intense month of the year. I've often heard May is the new December; April is the new May. School is getting out. Everything is getting crammed into just a few weeks. Traffic patterns change. Work schedules fluctuate. Vacations are scheduled. It's HOT. If you are feeling under pressure, this month's theme speaks to just that. Psalm 119:143 tells us, "Trouble & pressure have come upon me, but your commandments are my delights." While

Here in Atlanta we are in the full swirls of pollen - and yet - everything is beautiful. If you can handle your allergies long enough to get outside, there are the most gorgeous blossoms everywhere. And yet, the process of blossoming is a challenging one, and it is true for people as well. Over the last month, I have been working backstage trying to make some new technical things work better for our groups. It has taken longer, and been way more frustrating than I could have

Life has been busy at Sanctuary Groups - and for all our friends as well. March begins the downhill slide through April to the end of school in May, and whether you have kids in school or not it affects us all - from traffic to travel - hold on everyone! And this has been no normal spring [points wildly around to ALL THE THINGS]. Believe me, our group members know first hand how complicated life can be. We see the heartache in our community and our world. As we walk through t

Both my kids grew up participating in Scouts, and the motto for both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts is to "be prepared." Being prepared for anything from a campout to a board meeting is supposed to be covered. But for someone who struggles with being hyper-vigilant [here I am, raising my hand and waving it around], being prepared can sometimes feel like it can never be fully prepared. How can we be prepared for ALL the possible scenarios? The Bible has a plethora of verses on bei

When I was in high school, my boyfriend's mom gave me a gift. It was a wooden plaque that explained what my name meant and attached a Bible verse to it. I have no idea where this "knowledge" came from, but nevertheless, the gift was purchased. It still sits on my library shelf. "Brandi" it surprisingly says, means "one of authority," and it associates the name with Proverbs 29:2 - "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the

*That means everybody... Turns out there is no definition on "who" neighbor is - it means everybody. That might sound like really good news - or it may sound like the world's greatest challenge. When I was in seminary, one of our professors talked about how hard it can be to speak at a funeral when the person who has passed has been unkind. He spoke to the fact that being dishonest at a funeral isn't the right thing to do; but speaking to those present with care of their expe

So often I hear stories of exclusion in the church for a variety of reasons. Sadly, I've experienced this as well. Other times it sounds like the church has lost the thread of its most important and most compelling message. It's not about exclusion or hate - despite what people say about faith stories. What gets repeated so much in the Bible is LOVE. Ultimately - it's a love story. 1 John 4:7-21 sums it up really well - take a moment and read this passage with care. Let it si

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Over 260,000 attended the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The US honors King on the third Monday each January, but today, January 15, is his actual birthday. As we head into this long weekend, may we be reminded of the power of his words. Sixty three years later, we still have so much to learn and accomplish from King's dream. There are

Today marks a new year - it's time for 2026. I am not much of one for resolutions - they are too easily broken. And, I'm not so much into finding a "new me" - I'm more interested in discovering the me I already am and taking care of her. But I do love to dream and plan - and I find January to be a good time to take stock of what a new season of life might hold. Maybe you feel similarly. What are you dreaming about for the year ahead? When I think about dreams, I also think ab