Okay... to be totally honest... I don't know who the heck is driving my bus today. This post was both challenging and awakening. Thanks for writing it and making me think... as always Dawn.

Absolutely beautiful from God's heart straight to a mother's heart. Thanks for sharing her with us today.

You're on my reader, so I notice when you post. I'm sorry to hear about your dad and pray God's peace, comfort, grace and margins will surround your family.

You are so right Bianca. At our church we've worked hard to reinvent women's ministry while gleaning from the wisdom of those who have gone before us. We have a retreat coming up and I often hear, "I'm not a women's retreat kind of person." To which I respond, "Neither have I been, but you will loooove this." We love pink, doilies... not so much... we embrace femininity and a woman's need to talk about everything that pulls on her emotions including hormones (the good, the bad and the ugly) and yet we know that women have a vital role to play in the Kingdom of God, in families, in church, in the marketplace and in communities. We love to equip women to walk in the manner worthy in which THEY have been called and we've all been called to our own story. Thanks for posting this and I really hope it encourages many women to join the force of sisterhood that God created. :)

Seriously... I think it's going around. Brutal.

Stand firm Jon. It's good that you are out there on platforms like CNN. There are haters inside and outside the church.

I love how you've captured these thoughts that we are all probably trying to get and keep our minds around. I'm so thankful to have met you and heard a part of your story. Thanks for serving and giving yourself to God and us!

What a great post. I'm learning that sometimes God wants me to sit with the mountain before He will move it. But when He moves it, sometimes the imprint left behind is a reminder of what He has done.

Jarret and Jeanne, I love this story too as it has been on mind for over a week. My mom is a paralytic and I was thinking about what her response would be if I went to her and said, "Hey, Jesus is in town and we have to take you to him because he will heal you. But the thing is, it's really crowded so we are going to have to climb up on the house and lower you through the roof." As much as she trusts me, I don't think she would go for letting me and a few of my friends drag her up onto a roof, much less lower her, on a stretcher. The man in the story must have felt so safe with these friends and/or so SURE that Jesus would heal him (because he didn't heal everyone), that he would be willing to put his life in their hands. When I come across your blog, I pray that when people open the doors to Soul City Church, they will discover a community for those who are paralyzed, broken and wounded... in need of a Savior, in need of a community they can trust. God bless you guys.

It's good to get answers to help you get out of the woods. Hoping you find some relief from the frustration.