Part five of a seven-part series on my visit to Calvary Chapel of the Coastlands, Hannah Overton's home church. Part 1: Staring at Walls Part 2: Quorum Part 3: Chains Part 4: Locusts A little knowledge can paralyze you. In one of our early conversations about the retreat, Noreen had shared the story of one of the women in their fellowship -- a woman named Linda whose daughter had been murdered five years earlier. I could relate to that situation because we'd gone through that ourselves, and ... continue reading...
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Hannah Overton Part 4: Locusts
Part four of a seven-part series on my visit to Calvary Chapel of the Coastlands, Hannah Overton's home church. When I first wrote this, back when I went to Corpus Christi and met her family, she'd already missed so many moments with them. Three more years have passed since then. Please keep praying. Part 1: Staring at Walls Part 2: Quorum Part 3: Chains After the first session, I came back to my room and found this picture waiting for me in my inbox. My cousin, Tracy Willms, had sent ... continue reading...
Hannah Overton Part 2: Quorum
Part 2 of a 7-part series on Hannah Overton. Please pray, and please consider joining this Facebook page to find out how to write the governor of Texas and ask for clemency. Hannah's Story Part 1: Staring at Walls The plan had been to grab a latte after dinner before heading to the resort. I have to point out here that Corpus Christi, population 300,000, has two, count 'em, two Starbucks ... whereas my little town of 30,000, situated as it is in the shadow of Seattle ... continue reading...
Wild Kingdom
I'm at the home of my very lovely friends, Terry and Nancy Clark enjoying a little rest between a women's retreat at Twin Peaks (which was wonderful) and my flight home tomorrow night. We spent a lot of time talking about the animals in my life this weekend ... which brought this story to mind: Our home was a battlefield this morning. I awoke to the sound of frantic fowl. It wasn't possible to distinguish between the cries of the rooster, the hens or our eleven ducks--I only knew that ... continue reading...
On Trash and Treasures … and Starting Over
On Thursdays, we turn into an old married couple. Although no pastor I know ever actually takes an entire day off, Dave tries to stay away from his office on Thursdays, and he likes to pretend (though I know differently) that he's not thinking about church and the people it contains. We begin the day with a cup of coffee -- same as every other morning -- but this cup is sipped leisurely. Sighs of satisfaction usually occur at some point. I wait as long as I can. Eventually, when I can't stand ... continue reading...
How I Learned that Passionate Love is Real
In terms of pure romance, no open-shirted, smooth-chested, flowing-haired, pony-riding hero ever held a candle to my grandfather. Though I read and enjoyed all the best fairy tales as a child and spent my fair share of Saturday afternoons sitting through Disney movies, my romantic notions were birthed, formed and cemented at home, watching the way my grandparents interacted. Clifford loved Mickey -- madly, deeply, jealously. Maybe that's because he found her later in his life (she was forty, he ... continue reading...