By Nicole

Tonight, I am sitting on the bed in my hotel room, staring in the face of a buffalo.  He's on a flat and somewhat shiny canvas.  When I look in those dark, sad buffalo eyes, a familiar ache returns.  An ache I thought would just fade away as the days went by.  But since it hasn't, I'd better get it down. Earlier this week, as we traveled through the north end of Denver in a taxi van, we drove by the homeless mission.  Just before dinner.  Almost dusk.  And the square was full.  This was a sight I think I thought I had seen before, and I was prepared to breath calmly and let us pass by... without giving it a second thought.  Until my coworker gasped.  She'd never seen this before.  Never imagined those who live this way.  My other coworker snorted.... something about this being just like Tampa. I wasn't going to give it a second thought.  We help the homeless and poor on a daily basis. That's my job.  And it jades ...

Here it is.  I've read many Five Minute Friday posts, and always felt like I didn't have the time (5 minutes, I know...).  But today, I'm feeling game.  Like I've already stayed up this late... a few more minutes isn't going to hurt. So, my very first Five Minute Friday entry: Start: 11:26 p.m. I'm tired.  My eyes hurt from crying.  I'm in my sweats on the couch, listening to the humming sound the refrigerator makes.  It's louder when it's silent.  The fish tank tries to be louder, bubbling and clamoring for the attention of my ears.  If I would get up off of this couch and add water, it wouldn't have a chance. Lonely.  Even when I'm surrounded by things I should be busy doing.  Tackling the mountain of laundry. Cleaning up the clutter.  Maybe if I moved around a bit, I wouldn't have time to reflect on the loneliness my heart has felt over the past few days.  There's no real  reason for it.  If we could list t...

I just received the entire dvd-based study kit of Stuck by Jennie Allen.  It was perfect timing (it seems it always is lately) for me.  I cried through the first two videos, and I finally had to stop and just look through the leader's guide and the study booklet.  The whole kit comes in this great, sturdy box, which includes a DVD, study guide, leader's guide, and conversation cards.  The guides are a great size, small enough to fit in your purse and pack around all the time.  It's an eight week study, designed for a small group, but flexible enough to be completed with almost any size of group.  The topics over the eight weeks are stuck, broken, mad, discontent, scared, overwhelmed, sad, and unstuck.  All are based on Scripture for discussion and reflection.  Every week gives a mini-lesson, a study section, a "who are you Lord & and what do you want from me?", some projects, and a wrap-up.  The group meets to pray and discuss the home...