I have had some really bad jobs. One Christmas vacation I worked as a garbage collector and between the cold, snow, and rodents, it wasn't my best celebration of the season. I worked one summer during college as an intern at a factory, cleaning the rust off exhaust systems with acid. I worked for a while as a "brickie," carrying concrete blocks to masons and mixing concrete when it was so cold outside that we had to add antifreeze to it to keep it from freezing before it could be... Read More

To mourn we are by mercy called, to look to see to feel the weight of sin. We must not turn our face away must not deny what lurks within. We must not let our hearts grow hard, we must not work to feel okay. We must not numb this stain away. Jesus died to break our shame to calm our fears to open our eyes to soften our hearts to enliven our souls so we would mourn and in mourning find grace, the grace of confession the grace of forgiveness the grace of renewal the grace... Read More