It feels good to be self sufficient. It feels good to be strong. It feels good to be independent. It feels good to be enough (all things our particular culture praises). But it's a facade. We need each other. 

If you know me, you know I'm not patient. In fact, I debated all morning to get groceries via Click-List so I could avoid the store and lines all together. But something said 'nah, just go in'. I'm so glad I did.

In case you haven't noticed, some Christians are hypocrites. If you think that's bad, just wait. It gets worse. It's not just that it's some Christians, it's all Christians. We are ALL hypocrites.

You know what I think our faith community's biggest challenge is? We're defensive. We're defensive because we feel like our Truth (belief systems and God) are threatened and compromised if we love others as they are

Although it's been 22 years, pain, poverty, and anger still plague thousands of survivors struggling to live in wholeness.This group, however, was not like the others. This group included genocide perpetrators; people who committed unfathomable evil acts, went to prison, repented and are now free.

I was getting nervous, the excited-butterflies kind, as our two-car caravan navigated the unmarked dusty roads in Mbabe, Rwanda. We were almost there.

Picking and choosing when we obey based on how we feel or what we want. That is Christian hypocrisy. A wild faith in an unseen holy God deserving our full love and pursuit - and yet willful disobedience…

There was an armed guard, a needle exchange van in the parking lot, men congregating outside, and naloxone nasal spray in the office down the hall. Not my typical Friday night scene.

I'm trying to affirm my daughter less. Less 'way to go!'. Less 'you are so beautiful'. Less 'that's amazing!' Because this summer I realized I had gone too far.

It's a parent script that downloads into our brains upon child bearing - ready to play at any moment's notice when you want your kids to behave. They seem like harmless words. But they're not. I was creating a monster.

When we break negative cycles from our past, love wins.When the voice that says "I am enough" is louder than the voice that says, "You're not worth it", (self) love wins.

After 3 plus years training hundreds and hundreds of folks from all different industries, ranging up and down the corporate ladder, last week I had my worst experience ever.

But I would not teach her a long-lasting life lesson if I forced her to donate the quarters or if I didn't give her a choice at all. Generosity and selflessness can't be taught by guilt trips and punishments.

And as much as I believe the heart's in the right place when we say we want more of God, I think this phrase itself is... seriously flawed.

When Jeremy died, people told me to trust God. At first it was encouraging. And then it just got irritating.

My reaction and feelings aren't simple. If anything, I hope hearing raw honesty, even if you disagree with the conclusion, and hearing from a heart that earnestly seeks to love well and stay true to convictions, is somewhat refreshing.

God prioritizes spiritual wholeness over physical wholeness. But for those of us suffering pain or brokenness in our bodies, or grieving a life lost, that answer sucks.

So bottom line: people were hurt. And that's what inspired this letter. To acknowledge something I think a lot of Christians don't think through. Our moral positions may hurt others.

Well it's done. I'm officially thirty. Three life lessons come into focus as I reflect…

30. Don't text when you're mad. It's too easy to say things you shouldn't.