Two years ago I did a series of blog posts on the book, “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  The paradigm shift outlined in this book bears repeating.  The basic premise of the book is that poverty is really a breakdown in relationships; relationships with self,...

I am reading Jen Hamaker’s book “7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess” and I deeply resonated with her struggles as a mother.  Here are a few quotes that really spoke to me: “We were surrounded by extreme affluence, which tricks you into thinking you’re in the middle of the...

I am a total 80’s girl.  I think I was the inspiration for the Bowling for Soup song “1985.”  I love U2 and Blondie.  I do remember when there was music still on MTV and when Ozzie was a singer not an actor.  I also remember my desire to live like Madonna’s “Material Girl.” ...

I have been reflecting a lot upon the idea of growing a community of great neighbors. I am encouraging our Hillside friends to get to know their neighbors and learn about their hopes and dreams for their neighborhood.  One-by-one we are seeing our friends in Hillside gain confidence and...

Over the past few weeks I have been blogging through the book When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert.  The authors point out that how you go about alleviating poverty is the result of how you define your end goal.  If you define poverty purely as a lack of material things, you...

photo © 2010 RAFTWET Jewell | more info (via: Wylio)I think I know what Alice felt like when she returned home after spending time in wonderland.  I doubt she went back to life as it was before.  I think she longed to see the mysterious Cheshire Cat appearing and disappearing and I bet she...

I spend many days alone on our property in rural Virginia.  This cabin in the woods is my sanctuary.  I shared earlier this week that I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all the need that surrounds me on a daily basis.  I know when that begins to happen, it is time to get away.  We...

Over the years I have met many people who have said to me “I gave up on serving the poor” for a variety of reasons; they became too busy, they got burned, they did not feel like they were making a difference or did not feel like they were appreciated.  However, Claudio Oliver...

Have you listened to the lilies lately?  Has God ever spoken to you through the birds of the air? Matthew 2:26-29 was the first passage of scripture that ever deeply convicted me.  In this passage Jesus is reminding us about how foolish our tendency to worry is.  One of my greatest...

We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King in his letters from a Birmingham Jail writes to his fellow clergymen, “I have been so greatly...

Several months ago my friend Charles and I were delivering school supplies to a church for inner city children living in Church Hill.  This community was named Church Hill because there is a church on nearly every corner; large stately churches that cast ominous shadows.  I mistakenly missed...

The headlines in the Richmond Times Dispatch today reads: Two males were found shot today near the Hillside Court public-housing complex in South Richmond. Authorities were investigating to see if the shootings were related. Richmond police said one male was found shot in the abdomen about...