Posts By

Caris Adel

Lots of Books on My Shelves

Before we moved, I had an amazing bookshelf my husband built for me, complete with a counter, cupboards, corkboard inspiration board and everything.  But alas, it stayed with the house.  And my computer is broken so I can’t dig out a picture of it.  So now, I’m back to putting books on every available normal…

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And Now, A Story

I will search for you in the shadows I will search for you in the light I will search for you in the morning I will search for you in the night -Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors   Once upon a time, there was a wooden fence that embraced a large piece of land.  There…

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What I’m Into – Virginia

  Boxes.  Lots of boxes.  If I never see another one it will be too soon. Boilers.  Who knew there’s an on-off switch on the wall to turn a boiler on?  Not us Yankees.  So that was a semi-embarrassing visit from the heating guy.  “Here, I’ll write on/off on the switch for you.”  On the…

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Pastor-Kings and Servant Leaders

  “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”- C.S. Lewis   Sometimes Christian leadership feels like God is continually handing us Sauls, saying, ‘you wanted a leader,…

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When On-Fire Ends in Embers

  Though it pales in comparison To the overarching shadows,  A speck of light can reignite the sun And swallow darkness whole. – Sleeping At Last   He said “ Many of those stories highlight the bad parts of growing up evangelical.”  And he’s right.  My best memories and most formative moments happened over 9 summers…

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We Wanted the Fire to Be Popular

    “Our need is for {people} who can set the church ablaze for God, not in a noisy, showy way, but with an intense and quiet heat that melts and moves everything for God.” – E.M. Bounds   We were trying to make Jesus appealing to people.  Our youth group would rent out our…

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From Farmers to Abolitionists – A Family Legacy

    I’ve grown up knowing our story.  Our family history, based on the patriarchal line.  I know how the pioneers worked their way to this gorgeous prairie in southwest Michigan from England, by way of Delaware and Ohio. My ancestors were solidly Quaker.  Nary a soldier among them.  For someone who loves history, especially…

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I Am From

  I am from country roads and open spaces. From corn fields and the shoreline of Lake Michigan. I am from my grandparent’s farm. I’m from the sunrise peeking over the hill. Oatmeal in the morning. Metal grate clanging open, wood into stove. Morning news up loud downstairs, Upstairs snuggling under layers of blankets. I…

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God Has A Plan, and Other Useless Advice

  He interviewed for a job today.  An interview we thought about turning down.  Because the salary turned out to be much lower than the advertised amount. But how do you turn down what you need?  So we crunched the numbers, and surprise, surprise, realized we could live on less than we thought.  We could…

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Shedding A Faith

  I have been formed by a culture of newness.  Even my existence is a testimony to the strength of the Shepherding Movement, and the only dead theologians I knew of until I was an adult were C.S. Lewis and Martin Luther. It was my two years at a Lutheran school that cemented the belief…

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