Old Testament... New Kids

I go to a really small church that geographically sits on a line between “gentrified” and “poverty.” The vision for this body is to reflect the kingdom of heaven by celebrating diversity of wealth, race, and life experiences. A year ago, this body was meeting in a house church. Ten months ago, a barber shop. The body has grown and shifted and changed over the past year, but it has been a joy to watch.

DiscipleshipMary Elizabeth LatchJuly 25, 2019children's ministry, faith journey, God's planComment

A System Of Seeking God

When a small, scrappy nonprofit throws an event for 300+ people, things are bound to get a little bananas. In the weeks leading up to the event, our small team was feeling the pressure. Not only was I trying to develop all of the visuals for the evening, but I was also trying to wrap up my own programming with local kiddos. And plan a movie premiere. And make sure that our newly acquired event planner had all of her ducks in a row. And make sure that all of our email campaigns went out in a timely manner. And edit videos to embed in the email campaigns. And sleep. And eat. And just, in general, take care of myself. The day after the event, I went hiking.

DiscipleshipMary Elizabeth LatchJune 19, 2019seeking God, chaos, preparationComment

Joy In Your Journey

Camp stove. Fuel. Pot. Fork. Breakfast. Dinner. Coffee. Water purifier. Granola bar. Tea bags. Extra socks. Sleeping bag. Down jacket. Long underwear. Change of pants. Fleece vest. Mere Christianity. Water bottle. Apple. Toilet paper. Toothbrush. Toothpaste. Pack cover. Fujifilm XT2. Coffee mug. Cord to hang a bear bag. More extra socks. Trekking poles. A hat. Phone charger/lantern. Overnight permit. With one last run-through of my mental checklist, I hefted the pack on my back. I adjusted the shoulder straps, clipped the hipbelt and tightened the chest strap. And I headed to the trailhead.

DiscipleshipMary Elizabeth LatchMay 31, 2019joy, journey, peace, hiking, wisdom, steadfastComment

Not The Only Apple On The Tree

If you are to believe that you are a child of God - the apple of His eye - then you must believe that of others. This is where it gets a little hard. Remember what it means to be the apple of God’s eye? How He desires to protect you? How He loves, and cherishes you? How He desires to see himself in you?

A Noble CharacterMary Elizabeth LatchApril 23, 2019love, friendship, communityComment

On Being the Apple of His Eye

Over the span of a few days I suddenly realized that the phrase “apple of your eye” didn’t come from some story about a kid plucking an apple from a tree and throwing it at a girl’s face to get her attention. “Apple of your eye” means how much God loves us.

FemininityMary Elizabeth LatchMarch 21, 2019 Comment

Overcoming Fear With Faith

We allow our feelings of vulnerability (real or imagined) to take over. We begin to act out of that fear, rather than our faith. How many times have you said “no” because you were afraid that you would make a mistake? And from that mistake, everyone else would be able to spot your weaknesses?