ART + REFLECTION BY SOFIA RECTOR: Darkness deepens, presses down, and winds buffet. Lightning flashes -- Action! Thunder rumbles -- Reaction!

BY JASON PORTERFIELD: What might a weekly rhythm look like that helps us regularly put into practice the biblical mandate to do justice?

No one has had a more profoundly shifted my understanding of Jesus's teaching than Jesus himself, of course. But N.T. Wright runs a close second.

BY KATE BOYD: We believe in boundaries, not boxes. We love the gospel and we stand for justice. We cling to God in faith but create space for doubts.

ART + REFLECTION BY SOFIA RECTOR: For me, the dandelion is an emblem; an icon of flourishing in the cracks, the in-betweens, the messy middle found at the vertices of polarized opinion. It roots deeply, reaches for the light, blooms brightly, and gives generatively.

The yearning for smaller, slower, sweeter has been growing in me for years, maybe even a decade. I don't just blame all the growth and progress in the area for this. I also blame Wendell Berry and Jesus.

Thank you for being such a valuable part of The Holy Shift Family. Your dreams, ideas, and opinions matter to us and WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

REFLECTION BY KATIE FOX: What can we say about art and beauty in the face of mass shootings, war, evil, and destruction? Why discuss poetry, when the world feels like it's on fire? What can beauty and the arts offer to us when we’ve lost everything we hold dear?

Instead of drawing lines in the sand, we make room at the table for anyone who wants to encounter Jesus and love others.

Jaws clenched, chests heaving, the world rages in a tug of war...

ART + REFLECTION BY SOFIA RECTOR: As the light gentles, we gather, arms laden with food, blankets, drink. We come to feed our souls as much as our bodies...

POEM BY KAREN ABEYTA:You once recited the sinner’s prayer | donning a Power Rangers costume | fearing Hell but | not loving God

BY DR. HENRY CLOUD OF BOUNDARIES.ME: Many Christians misunderstand grace, even those who are helping people grow. Usually people think that grace means forgiveness or the absence of condemnation. And the God of grace is the one who forgives. But while forgiveness is an expression of the grace of God, grace is much bigger than just forgiveness.

The kitchen window framed the scene | the proud posturing, the wild gesturing. | And I, with linen towel twisting | between fretting fingers, watched | as a broken boy extended his hand, | demanding honor from kindness.

ARTICLE BY JUDY DOUGLASS: Our God loves mercy. May we live in this truth: “Mercy triumphs over judgment.” (James 2:13)

If surviving grief has taught me anything, it is that we all have one life to live and one God to glorify, and we are purposed to do that in community.

ART + REFLECTION BY SOFIA RECTOR: May we grieve well, knowing He has plumbed the depths, and then risen to the heights, and is making all things new.

REFLECTION BY LAURA BECK:On pain, peace, and new paths emerging out of darkness

ARTICLE BY DR. SANDRA GLAHN: If you're struggling to find the perfect words to comfort someone in their grief, it's because there aren't any. Here's how to comfort those who are hurting.

ARTICLE BY DR. SANDRA GLAHN: How to think and talk about adoption in alignment with the values of Christ’s upside-down kingdom.