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# family

April 12, 2017
1

## how to really succeed in life

By Carrie Stephens | article, celebrating, choosing, failure, family, Joy | 2 Comments

Each one of these people of faith died not yet having in hand what was promised, but still believing. How did they do it? They saw it way off in the distance, waved their greeting, and accepted the fact that they were transients in this world. People who live this way make it plain that they are looking for their true home. If they were homesick for the old country, they could have gone back…

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April 5, 2017
0

## god’s dream for us is revolution

By Carrie Stephens | article, choosing, diversity, dreams, faith, family, forgiveness, friendship, God, grace, problems | 2 Comments

“Good morning, Revolution: You’re the very best friend I ever had. We gonna pal around together from now on.” -Langston Hughes Some things have changed a lot since Langston Hughes wrote those words, but we are still awaiting the deep work of revolution to take its place in our world and in our lives. We need some miracles. Christianity, at its roots, offers us the opportunity to live beyond the comfortable and the usual in our…

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March 29, 2017
0

## my window prayer for belonging

By Carrie Stephens | article, faith, family, friendship, God, hope, prayer, shame, spiritual disciplines, vulnerability | One Comment

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone…

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March 9, 2017
1

## first love and big trophies

By Carrie Stephens | dreams, family, God, love, pixar | One Comment

“I see what you’ve done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out. But you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway?….Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading…

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October 21, 2016
0

## winning the trust (and hearts!) of our children

By Carrie Stephens | faith, family, transparency, trust, vulnerability | No Comments

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” -1 Peter 2:9-10 Last night we walked home from the park as a family, and one of my kids stayed close by…

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August 8, 2016
0

## the hidden gift in motherhood

By Carrie Stephens | article, family, God, grace, momhood, Motherhood | No Comments

We have been at the pool almost every night for the past few days. Post-dinner swimming is my favorite part of summer living in Texas, where even after the Sun has set, the air hangs all hot on your neck like a wool sweater. The boys hit each other with pool noodles in some kind of destructive boy ritual, my daughter calls out for me to watch her do tricks and flips underwater, and I…

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July 27, 2016
0

## almost famous and humiliations galore

By Carrie Stephens | article, Austin, family, lessons in life, shame, social media, transparency, vulnerability | No Comments

There I was, frantically waving my arms, in my yoga clothes/pajamas, wearing my crazy bed head hair while chasing the trash truck down my street, dragging our giant green garbage can behind me. It was a glorious sight for the neighborhood, I’m sure. “That was a little EMBARRASSING, Mom,” my daughter later informed me. It’s always helpful to your self-esteem to have your seven year old school you on embarrassment, don’t you agree? It’s really…

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June 30, 2016
0

## fun summer mom

By Carrie Stephens | article, family, momhood, Motherhood | No Comments

Every morning of the week week we dragged our lazy summer selves out of bed, dressed, breakfasted, driven in stop-and-go traffic, and deposited Boy 2 at an art class downtown for three hours. Then my tired, slightly grumpy crew of three kids and I sought adventures. We splashed in the river, rode a train, climbed a mountain, played at the park, ate in cafés, and sipped hot cocoa by Lake Austin. With my list of…

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May 25, 2016
0

## joy candles

By Carrie Stephens | article, family, Joy, lessons in life | No Comments

“Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.” -Psalm 89:15 Last night I shouted to my fiercest child, “Hey, baby! Want to make a cake?!” “SURE!” he tumbled down the stairs, ready to conquer the world. That kid loves to do hard stuff if it ends with some kind of sugary treat. He measured out the ingredients, mixed them up, and we ate…

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January 22, 2016
0

## 12 years later I’m still cluelessly mothering by faith

By Carrie Stephens | article, faith, family, grace, momhood | No Comments

The year I turned twelve, I got a snazzy new purple and neon yellow track suit from Big 5 Sporting Goods in Yorba Linda, California. I knew nothing about anything back then, but I thought I knew everything about all the things that mattered. Youthful ignorance is bliss. That was about five minutes ago, I think. Or maybe it’s been a million years. I don’t know for sure. Time is too hard to understand. I…

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