http://www.cupchurch.org/blog Everyone Prays, Everyone Cares, Everyone Serves, Everyone Shares Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:59:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en With Speed and Superficiality in this age has come the unsurprising result of ungrounded, discontent spirits that wrestle with real life. To become deeply acquaainted with our Creator is to settle into the patterns and rythmns of living as nomadic residents in this transient world. We are such a "GOALS" ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=86 That's what singer/songwriter John Denver called it. West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River! There are thirteen states that join together to comprise the region known as "Appalachia." Of those thirteen states, only one is entirely and completely a part of this region...West Virginia! In the North Central part of ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=84 Home decorating shows call it..."The Reveal." It was bigger than we had anticipated. Just over $10,000 dollars from a week of frigid campers paying for the privilege to self-identify with the houseless. A generous benefactor wrote a substantial check to help us reach this amazing gift, presented to the Union ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=78 Saturday, January 23rd. Our last night. Thirty of us gathered around campfire in our makeshift tent city. Stories were shared as we stood warming and reflecting on what the week meant to us. One thing was clear, people really had fun during the week! We all felt meaningfully engaged in ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=76 How does your day normally end?  Calm, quiet evening in your living room?  Maybe reading a book for awhile in your bed?  Grabing a favorite snack out of the kitchen while enjoying an activity?  Perhaps catching a late night show before lights out?  When you live in a tent (or ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=72 Three days ago, as I prepared to "Raise my tent," I stared into my closet stuffed full of clothes.  What to bring?  One back pack is what I had decided in advance, no more.  Something you could easily carry on your back and remain mobile, as many homeless are.  I ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=70 Turtles carry their homes on their backs; so do many homeless people.  My home is a shell of many layers; all temporary, all permeable.  Wind, air, heat or extreme cold; my house is not entirely my own--the elements press in uninvited.  My layers remind me that it is a battle ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=64 Monday, January 18th.  RAISE YOUR TENTS campout has begun!  My first night out under the canopy of creation is over.  Phew!  A skeptic might say - one down and six to go!  Actually, even though we were covered with the shroud of misty rain, the embrace of the dark, damp ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=62 Just the other day, I was outside with my son in the sub-frigid weather putting up lights in our yard. When it came time to make some connections, it was clear that we needed a few adapters, which meant I was off to the hardware store to grab what ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=61 So I'm riding my bike recently on a clear, cold and windy Saturday.  My route takes me in winding in all four directions (north, south, east and west) and the same in reverse.  I'm huffing and puffing at first, taking a long flat stetch to the west with what feels ... http://www.cupchurch.org/blog/?p=56