Guest post by Heather Fignar The rain and fog of the day, the granite outcroppings and the hilly terrain of our mountain side blotted out the sirens and the lights. Blissfully ignorant, I sat at my kitchen table working as police drama unfolded just up the road. My phone came to life, ringing with calls, vibrating with texts. Word was out that there had been a shooting on my street. My friends were texting. My husband was calling. Was I okay? My safety firmly acknowledged, the next...

Originally published January 20, 2017 Look around. It’s obvious. We are not a Christian nation. Today’s inauguration of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States marks one of the most divisive seasons in our history. Beyond politics, race riots endanger our streets, gun violence threatens our children, addiction and overdoses are destroying families and entire communities. Nope, we’re not a Christian nation. Because there’s no such thing as a Christian nation. Christ’s first followers...

This girl? This girl right here? She's an answer to my prayers. For several months I've been asking (begging?) God to send me a helper, someone who loves Him and her neighbors like crazy... and just maybe has some experience with techie stuff and tools for sharing this neighbor-love. In walks Bailey. She's a clever millennial who puts her seminary training to use on her own streets. She writes, she speaks, she mommies, she serves. I'll let her tell you our story, and you can look forward to...

It’s January, so I’m reading Genesis*.   From the very beginning, we see two neighbors (who happened to be brothers) at odds as Cain became so angry that he attacked and killed his younger brother, Abel. Relationships between neighbors have never been easy.   At least mine haven’t. My neighbors can get on my nerves, whether it’s a leaky septic system, disagreements between our kids, or a light that shines in my eyes all night long. When my neighbor had to reschedule her daughter’s...