Ever been to Gilead? It is a lot closer than you might think. Walking distance from here. An easy drive. A quick flight. It is just outside and sometimes we are sitting smack in the middle of it. I have been to Gilead, but not as often as I would have liked or stayed nearly as long as I wanted. Gilead is no stranger to Scripture. In Genesis, Joseph’s brothers sell him to balm and myrrh merchants from Gilead. Deuteronomy adds Gilead to the list of properties for wilderness wan

Only recently have I been able to listen again to the Broadway musical, Les Miserables. Between taking my children and hauling numerous youth groups over the years to New York or DC to watch and then discuss this musical, I soon memorized the entire score and even now can sing most of the music in my sleep, which is the best time to hear me sing! In case you have somehow missed this musical, it adapts Victor Hugo’s story of Jean Valjean. He is a convict who has just been rele

Before we moved from Alexandria to Atlanta, Jennell was the Executive Director of the first federally funded community health center in Northern Virginia. Many days she would come home to recount horrific stories of immigrant women who had made the treacherous journey from Central America through Mexico and into the United States. A common denominator of most stories was that these women had been raped, many on multiple occasions. They would tell Jennell such abuse was the bo