Amazing and merciful God, how easy it is for us to forget that we are your delight. You we rejoice when we follow your holy ways and envision a future of goodness and grace for all your people. We blame you for divisions and strife. We justify our wars by saying that you are on … Read More
Following Jesus, true discipleship, is not for the feint of heart. Jesus is not of a fan of the familiar, routine, or status quo. Jesus likes to challenge assumptions, rouse the rabble, and provoke the powerful with truth. Once you put your hand on this particular plough, there is no turning back. It just isn’t … Read More
What are you doing here? Are you running away? Are you exhausted? Are you without hope? Are you looking for God, hoping God will show up and fix all that is broken? Will you eat the bread that is offered? Will you withstand the truth of where God is? Will you get up and go … Read More
Transfiguration is here again. The story brings with it an invitation to follow Jesus up a mountain, sit, pray, and expect God to show up. The trick is that we have to allow God to be God and not comply with what we think is appropriate. Peter, James, and John were likely dumbfounded when Jesus … Read More
When will we stop honoring the dust and start embracing heaven? There’s more than enough judgement and hatred going around. They conspire together to builds walls and condemn anyone who isn’t white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, neurotypical, economically sound, well-educated, and male. These socially endorsed biases are decidedly not Christian. Yet, we continue to act as … Read More
I am afraid of heights even though I don’t want to be. If I am up high and get the feeling like I could fall, vertigo hits in a big way. I get dizzy and hear buzzing in my ears which increases the feeling that I could fall. It doesn’t matter how safe I am, … Read More
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Creator, is this: to care for the vulnerable among us in their distress, and to keep oneself apart from the fears of the world. (James 1:27, paraphrased) Suicide is headline news once again. This fact alone increases suicidality and the risk of suicide for many people. How … Read More
Throughout my life, there have been a lot of people telling me that I couldn’t do one thing or another. The first time I remember hearing this, I was six or seven. It was summer and the town had a T-ball league. My mother found this out and realized that for a small fee, both … Read More
Sometimes things converge in a way that only God can arrange. When the release day for my book, The Lifesaving Church: Faith Communities and Suicide Prevention, was set, I’d forgotten that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The book was officially released on the first, Mental Health Awareness Month had begun, and my sermon text … Read More
I remember very vividly the first conversation I had with someone about gender identity. I had just come out as a lesbian (I later came out as bi) and had lost my job as a consequence. The day I was packing up my office, I met a person in the outer doorway as I carried … Read More
Interested in spiritual direction or learning more about it to decide whether it's for you? Curious whether you can afford it? Wondering if Rachael Keefe is available to speak to your group or present at your conference on mental health and faith or suicide prevention and the church?
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