Will I ever love a church again? Brittany Allen asks, “Could I reclaim that vulnerability that once came so naturally to me after it had been used as a weapon pointed at my own heart? Could God rebuild my faith in his Bride and redeem what had been lost?”
The hidden curriculum of the wilderness: Christopher Cook says, “When you’re in that space—the wilderness between who you were and who you’re becoming—you will be tempted to mislabel it; to call it punishment; to rebuke it like it’s an attack; even, to distract yourself from it. But make no mistake, this (the wilderness) is the curriculum of the Lord. It’s not discipline for your past. It is preparation for your future.”
The freedom of being seen by Christ: O. Alan Noble says, “As we see in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, to be seen by Christ, no matter how exposing it might be, is always an unburdening and a source of freedom.”
A time to build: Andrea Sanborn says, “How much like religion that is. I know many who have pitched their tents in the welcoming woods of Christianity, but neglected the hard work of digging a foundation. The tent is enough, they think, as long as the weather holds in the sweetness of summer. But disillusionment quickly grows when the winds shift to the north and bitter cold seeps in beneath the thin canvas walls.”
Best affordable family vacations: Sedona and Yellowstone make list. What are your favorites?

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