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CONFESSIONS OF A CULTURAL SCHIZOPHRENIC
Hi. My name is Pam Sider and I'm a cultural schizophrenic.There are probably Twelve Steps somewhere to remedy this. Or a Self Help Support Group. All I know is, ever since I went cross-cultural, I...
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HEAVEN IS NEAR
(For my dear father-in-law who walks some of his last days on earth...and for my precious husband experiencing the good-bye.)Today I heard the sounds of heaven It wasn't loud, just light celestial...
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WHEN LIFE IS HEAVY
(for fellow struggling soldiers...your honesty slays me...and touches the heart of God)When life is heavyyour spirit feels its weight.Your body absorbs it, slows,sometimes it reacts, protests with...
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FULLY PRESENT
I am eager to find you today, to be with You.Eager to get to my special place with You,to pour out the longing, the needs, to sense You there.And You are there.With anxiety still clinging to my heart,I...
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BIRTHDAY OFFERING (IN A FARAWAY LAND)
For my dearest firstborn experiencing life far away from home.Today I bring You an offering...I carry it in trembling handsand with a heart of mixed emotions.Finally my will & my love for You...
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WRITING IN THE RAWNESS (AND FINDING HIM THERE)
In gratitude, for LCSome of you have noticed a silence in my writing for a while. I have been processing some heavy things that have happened in the last year. That process took me through some dark...
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THE SCARLET CORD (For Dysfunctional Families)
If redemption were a colour, I think it would be scarlet.Nathanael Hawthorne's magnum opus, The Scarlet Letter, brilliantly treats themes of guilt and sin. Victor Hugo´s powerful redemptive theme in...
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ROOM FOR WRESTLING
For JP, a fellow pilgrim in wrestlingDo you allow yourself times of wrestling?You may have faith questions, identity questions, destiny questions, philosophical questions or many other kinds of...
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GOD OF THE LAST MINUTE!
The other day over coffee with an Arab friend, she made a comment that stood out to me. She was talking about stuff going on in her life and how she was waiting...and waiting....and waiting. Then she...
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A JOURNEY OF LEADERSHIP
In these days I rise to take my placeAnother step in this Love Following I doThere is trembling and a sense of aweBut also mysterious peace and a sense of right.In my mind I walk through the faith-hall...
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LEARNING TO ACCLAIM
"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You,who walk in the light of Your presence, O Lord."Psalm 89:15I was thinking about what it means to "acclaim" Him. Apparently it is something...
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QUIETLY
for KEQuietly you leave your markthrough time-honored faithfulnessthrough eager offerings to assistthrough gentle suggestions.Quietly you carry onthrough rain or shinethrough turmoil or smooth...
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HELP! FOREIGN INVASION IN MY KITCHEN!
I just returned from a trip and since it was December 1st and I was really trying to be organized this year, I actually thought of Christmas. Some of you Martha Stewarts already saved your turkey...
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RELENTLESS LOVE
¨Many waters cannot quench love...¨Song of Songs 8:7Relentless Loveas strong as deathtenaciously pursues.Relentless Loveunquenched by many watersruns unrestrained.Relentless Loveburns like a...
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JOY & SORROW: A HOLY FRIENDSHIP
(A mother's reflections as we wait for final test results on some suspicious cancerous cells.)Such joy & sorrow mingle down,*entwined together as holy friends.My heart whispers trust,but my body...
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THE PLACE OF INDIFFERENCE
There is a phrase in Spanish, ¨me da igual,¨ which means ¨It is the same to me.¨ It is perhaps closest to the phrase in English ¨I could go either way.¨ or ¨I have no preference.¨This is the place I...
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AND OVER ALL THE GLORY...A CANOPY
"Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a...
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2014: BOUNTY OR BUST?
Have you looked forward to 2014 as I have with a deep sense of expectancy? My husband and I are moving into a new role in our organization of greater responsibility and we have seen God confirm...
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DEAR GRANDMA, HAVE I TOLD YOU?
Dear Grandma,Have I told you lately that I love your smile and your little laugh? Did I remember to tell you last time we spoke that I love how you treasure friendship and have kept up in remarkable...
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LOVE IN THE BROKENNESS
There is an undeniable brokenness in each one of us.We all struggle for wholeness, some sense of completeness.Yet in the rawness of our stuff, there are shadows of fear.Fear that our brokenness will be...
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MARY STAYED
It is Easter week already.Today I was thinking about Jordan who just turned 13 last weekend and remembering a special insight he had 3 years ago at Easter time that still impacts me. I wrote about it...
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CONNECTING WITH GOD IN CRISIS
I have seen in myself and in other friends that what works for us spiritually during normal times of life is not the same as what works in crisis. Sometimes we act as if God must be limited to or...
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ABALONE GUY
For my dear brother Joel. To be read at his memorial service today.Abalone GuyLife has got you clinging to a rockYour muscular foot firmly agripTides & waves & other creaturesCannot move...
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MY DON QUIXOTE
Your soul is stamped with Don Quixotethat brave, poetic, quirky classical Spanish knight.You are full of honor and goodness and idealismAnd you fight for the virtues & values you hold dear.Your...
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WHEN VACATION MAKES YOU LAUGH
We recently went on a much needed vacation. It had been a long time. We were happy to head off to Portugal, our friendly neighbor, where we hadn´t been for several years. Normally we camp near the...
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