Most people in America know what a missionary is. Many may think of people speaking about Africa at their church, asking for money. For others, the kid who was home schooled in a jungle and have a hard time fitting back into society, may come to mind. I've had some several different stereotypes over the years, regarding this breed of Jesus-followers, and now, I suppose, I am one.

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"Feliz Navidad!" Jubilant voices welcomed us into there home as we made our way up the steep hill in the darkness,towards the twinkling lights, music and chatter. We were ushered in to yet another home in the village, hugs all around, plates of rice and chicken shoved in our hands. Everyone was laughing, and I found myself laughing along, partly because of the contagious nature of the Kuna people's joy, partly because I was overly exhausted, because it was 2 a.m. on Christmas.

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In our search for love, we do crazy and reckless things. We search in bars and the internet and the church and in people just as broken as ourselves. We want this love so bad, but when we try to gain it outside of The One Being who is love, we are cheating ourselves.

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This Thanksgiving morning finds me teary, overcome with the magnitude of God's grace and mercy, in that He has, for His own reasons, chosen to make me an incredibly rich person. They have to be His own reasons; I know my story well enough to know the massive gulf between what I have earned and what I have -- which is why I so often repeat that old Testament chart-topper that says, "O praise the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever." This morning, I celebrate the same things that many will: home, health, family and friends. But the things I have seen, heard, and learned this past couple of years. Well, they are what push my gratitude from a sigh and a smile to a whole other level.

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This past Friday, I joined the ranks of the unemployed when the shelter where I worked did some downsizing.  I had never been laid off before; that meeting was short, to the point, and absent the drama one might imagine.  Driving home that afternoon, I texted my kids.  "On my way home. Unemployed. God is good."

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Maybe I am crazy or schizophrenic, but lately I have been more aware of the fact that I am a physical and a spiritual being. It's like I have been able to separate the two, and see who I am really am.

How many people in the world are happy when they stand in front of a mirror? I wonder how many people work hard to make their bodies a certain shape, to buy certain clothes to hide them or show them off. I've been thinking about about how weird it is, I am this person trapped in skin.

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When I first picked up Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist, I have to admit that I was a little skeptical. I was sort of expecting a "Chicken soup for the soul" flavored book, overly emotional and slightly cheesy. At first I was a little annoyed at some of the inane "girly" details she would talk about, but as I delved into the book, it took me by surprise.

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I was reading a novel that I'd picked up at the library, written by one of my favorite writers of historical fiction.  I hadn't bothered with my usual habit of reading the back cover to see what it was about; this author could be trusted to be interesting.  I was too far into the story by the time I realized it touched on a topic both personal and painful to me (that topic is not th...

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Answers are one thing the Christian community has no shortage of. So many of my peers have the most matter-of-fact responses to some of the most confounding conundrums within mankind's general understanding of existence. Whether it's why things are the way they are, why they won't be what they can be, or why they may never be; there's always a coyly rattled off explanation. It's as if most believers should just playfully look at the inquisitor and reply, "Well, someone hasn't been reading their Scripture!"

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It's funny to be a person that sees God in a rotting log or busy river water, but I do.
I was camping a couple of weeks ago at Bagby Hot Springs here in "mid-west" Oregon. Hot springs are, by definition "...springs that are produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust."

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