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Elrena Evans

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Stages of Anxiety

The day I was to dance at an open-air concert in Times Square I woke before the alarm, as is my custom, and slid out of bed into the quiet dark. Instantly, I knew something was wrong: The room was spinning. Or was I? Putting …

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Leave a Comment on Stages of AnxietyOctober 22, 2018December 3, 2018 By elrenaevans

The Weight of Silence

The ordinary sounds of Sunday morning help mask some of my son’s repetitive outbursts, but the quiet of the sermon is a struggle. Admittedly, even typically developing 8-year-old boys struggle with the sermon. It’s just more of an issue for my child. When our pastor …

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Leave a Comment on The Weight of SilenceOctober 1, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Living With Terror

My instinct is to stay in bed, smother fear with a pillow, cultivate the illusion of safety beneath the warmth of my duvet. Waking to the news of yet another shooting, stabbing, natural disaster, I find myself echoing Francis Schaeffer: How should we then live? …

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Leave a Comment on Living With TerrorSeptember 30, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Normal to Me

In my room sits an empty cardboard box that my middle son gave me for Mother’s Day. “I don’t understand why you have pillows on your bed that you don’t use for sleeping,” he said. “But I thought I would make you a place to …

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Leave a Comment on Normal to MeAugust 31, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Sacred Conversations

“We don’t even know how to talk to each other anymore,” says Pastor Griff Martin of First Baptist Church in Austin, TX, about divisive issues in our country today. “As a church, we can’t lead a conversation about gun violence or sanctuary cities out in …

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Leave a Comment on Sacred ConversationsJuly 16, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Not Safe, But Good

My daughter’s first year of Vacation Bible School, she decided halfway through the week that she didn’t want to be a Christian. I learned about her decision from a teen volunteer, who came to find me, ensconced in the nursing mother’s room at the church …

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Leave a Comment on Not Safe, But GoodJune 29, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Thursday Morning Sabbath

As the last sibling was deposited curbside with the usual barrage of I-love-you, please-tie-your-shoes, don’t-forget-to-turn-in-your-field-trip-form, see-you-soon, my little guy looked at me and asked, “Mommy, is it Fursday?” “It is Thursday,” I confirmed. “YES!” he called out, his footie-pajama-clad feet kicking high into the air. …

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Leave a Comment on Thursday Morning SabbathApril 26, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Living Out the Whole Gospel: A Profile of Church Health

“I read the Bible,” Scott Morris recalls, “and I couldn’t help but notice everything in there about healing the sick. It is on every page.” But when he looked at the churches around him through this lens, Scott wasn’t satisfied with what he saw: “We …

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Leave a Comment on Living Out the Whole Gospel: A Profile of Church HealthMarch 9, 2018October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Ferdinand and the Practice of Nonviolence

I first learned about nonviolence from a bull. My childhood copy of Ferdinand was beautiful—the red cover, the flowers, even the lettering. I remember very clearly the way the light and dark shading of the font played together in perfect harmony in the title on the cover. …

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Leave a Comment on Ferdinand and the Practice of NonviolenceDecember 14, 2017October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Advent Waiting

Back and forth we dance: Wait. No. Wait. No. Wait. When the dishes are done or the sneaker is tied or I’ve spelled “antidisestablishmentarianism” yet again (that can’t really be one of their spelling words, right? Someone is pulling my leg?) I ask her what …

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Leave a Comment on Advent WaitingDecember 12, 2017October 7, 2018 By elrenaevans

Wonder: When Difference is Written on Your Face

Watching their son walk toward the school building on his first day, Auggie’s parents (played by Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson) hold on to each other, emotions writ large on their faces. Then his mother prays: “Dear God, please make them be nice to him.” …

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Leave a Comment on Wonder: When Difference is Written on Your FaceNovember 15, 2017November 15, 2017 By elrenaevans

Praying for DREAMers

When we finished praying, my eight-year-old blurted out, “Can I eat my card?” I was trying to decide if not eating the prayer card was going to be my hill to die on, when he paused, green card halfway to his open mouth. “Actually, I …

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Leave a Comment on Praying for DREAMersNovember 15, 2017November 15, 2017 By elrenaevans

Where Heaven and Earth Intersect: Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago

The film brings viewers right into the middle of Justin and Patrick’s friendship, and the depth of their relationship is apparent. As is their humor: when the camera focuses on Patrick, exhausted and slumped over for a much-needed rest, Patrick then looks at Justin and …

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Leave a Comment on Where Heaven and Earth Intersect: Pilgrims on the Camino de SantiagoNovember 1, 2017November 15, 2017 By elrenaevans

I See You

I see you on stage at the school play, or lighting the candles as an acolyte, or twirling through your dance recital and I know what it cost you to get up there and do that, and my heart is bursting for you. In this …

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Leave a Comment on I See YouAugust 6, 2017August 6, 2017 By elrenaevans

Why the Fidget Spinner Gives Me Hope

When the fidget spinner first started out on its meteoric rise, I thought, how cool. Something that was originally the primary province of the “special needs” community has gone mainstream—and with it, perhaps, the ability for more children to find points of connection with children …

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Leave a Comment on Why the Fidget Spinner Gives Me HopeJuly 14, 2017August 6, 2017 By elrenaevans

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