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Light in Darkness
Every year, during the holiday season, as we approach Christmas, the events increase and things get crazier. This last week was nuts. In the midst of an atmospheric river of rainfall, we had to procure outfits for the kids for a middle school dance and choir performance. There was also a birthday gift to shop…
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Romans 5: The Undeserving
In this chapter, Paul shows the way faith runs opposite of our natural instinct. He encourages us to rejoice in our hardships and suffering we face because the difficulties produce endurance, which produces character, which produces hope. That hope doesn’t produce shame, but welcomes the love from the Holy Spirit. So, instead of running away…
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Unreliable Narrators
Netflix has dropped a movie about domestic violence right into the mix of holiday romances. It Ends with Us has all the trappings of a classic Hallmark story. It introduces a girl with a floral name opening up a flower shop and choosing between two handsome men, but this story is not all roses. Pretty…
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Seaside
The Oregon coast was made for kids and dogs. Where Cannon Beach has an aesthetic of Coastal Grandma, with its blown glass art galleries and overpriced surf and turf eateries, Seaside is 100% State Fair with its painted carousel and Pronto pups. After a quick bite of pizza, kids made a beeline to the beach…
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Independence Day
It’s the time of the year when I see lots of patriotic posts, challenging people to show the flag and “Stand up for freedom and America.” I do celebrate Independence Day because as a movement it acknowledged human equality and unalienable rights. It’s also important to understand that the founding fathers’ first push for freedom…
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Happy Haunted Holidays
This week of winter break we’ve watched a cartoon version of A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. All three movies explore themes of family, separation, conflict, togetherness, poverty and wealth. It makes sense that after seeing all those shows together I would get a haunted fever…