I must say that this email from you is one of the delights of my week. I know it can be a struggle week after week after one has made a commitment so publicly. Thank you Jeff.
Jeff, I recently stumbled across your newsletter and I'm grateful for it! I'm someone who's not religious - I'm very wary of Christianity because of the negative, exclusionary messages I hear on behalf of that religion. But when I read your writing, I have... faith - in people, openness and honesty, vulnerability, connection. So thank you!
I've loved reading the story of your life this year Jeff. As a widow who turned 80 this year, I have been keeping pretty close to home. I lost my youngest daughter to cancer in May and was just blessed with the birth of my 11th great-granddaughter last week. Such terrible heartbreak and now such joy. I am so very thankful for my family and friends.
I have to take a moment to make sure you know how you have been a light in the darkness Jeff. Like so many others, this year has brought much into sharp focus. Without my church around me as I was used to... in strange new territory I’d never explored, and grieving the suicide of a friend I was in a pretty dark and self loathing place. Then a friend told me I had to hear a podcast about compost. I thought it sounded unlikely... turned out to be brilliant. Your theology in compost has become a pivotal point in my personal life story. Without it I’m not sure what life would be now honestly. I’m actually speaking about it in the the midst of a message God had. Been working in me all year. Evolving faith has been key in so many way, and I am now sharing it with anyone who will hold still long enough to listen. You have impacted much more than the 8,000 who check in with the EF family... because we are leaving seeds along our paths as we go into the darkness.
Thank you.
Thank you for the beauty of compost that you shared with me.
Thank you for your faithfulness to do things that make you uncomfortable (like podcast) and emails sent out to friends whom you’ve never met.
I am thankful for my cat and his snuggles. I am so thankful for my little home, a place I have spent more time this year than ever.....I realize just how thankful I am for these walls and floors and dinner plates.
I also find myself thankful for Instagram, just so I can see other people every day.
I very much feel like, in a rather unexpected turn of events, 2020 gave the concept of church BACK to me. It was something I had given up on about a decade ago, but this year the Internet showed me that it was still out there, and welcoming, and healing, even for me. So thank you for being part of that.
Thank you for this Jeff. My Dad died unexpectedly on Dec. 22 due to complications from Covid. Yes, he had a lot (A LOT) of other health problems, but he and my step-mom had been so very careful the past 9 months to try to protect him. It still wasn't enough. Right now I am still angry, don't feel like celebrating survival, and really not too jolly about the new year. I appreciate your mixed feelings on it. It also reminds me that I do need to look for the joy I DID experience this past year. And you are so right about #GBBC and Olivia Coleman.
I have surprised myself this year with things I ended up grateful for... given how difficult a year it was... but here's some of them
1 - my fur-friend confused cat who thinks he should be by my side at all times & has been full of mischief and affection through an extended lockdown
2 - evolving faith - I knew I couldn't abandon my faith completely but I also wanted nothing to do with it in what I saw... this was an olive branch and a gift that helped me realise that I am not alone and that there are many many many good people out here in a wilderness
3 - community - in a weird turn of events I found myself going from virtually no local community/friendships to a small circle of tight-knit friendships formed during a strict lockdown & that has made the world of difference... and is very tied to evolving faith as well, as coincidentally we all have found ourselves on similar paths - we have shared episodes & thoughts & it has been a beautiful oasis
4 - these writings - they have been food for thought and I feel like each time I read them I am both comforted & inspired at the same time.
I am so grateful for your ministry. This weekly missive from you that I share on my Facebook page every week, and almost always get a comment like, "thanks for sharing this, he has such good things to say." And for the Evolving Faith conference, a gift which continues to give as I make new friend and connections, read new authors, hear new music. It has been one of the bright spots in this hard, strange year. Thank you.
I look so forward to receiving your emails! You are always a breath of fresh air and inspiration-especially during these challenging times! Thank you for continuing to share your meaningful insights that are so uplifting, and for being such a bright light with your relatability and words of encouragement! I so appreciate you! Wishing you a peaceful and blessed transition in to 2021!
I’m grateful for a group of friends who support and encourage each other.
I’m also grateful for my church and that the 18 months it took to call a new pastor was worth the wait. Erica Cooper became the new pastor at Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham, Al. It makes me so happy to be able to say that this church is such a safe place for ALL peoples!
My dog, Agatha has been a constant source of entertainment. And I’m grateful for card games with my teenage son - he was so bored he took up company with me.
Today one of my friends in my most precious girl group asked us for our worst and best moment of 2020. Just considering the question made me have all sorts of complex emotions and I was grateful, like you, that it was balanced - not all sunshine and roses with the flip of a calendar page (paper reference for the millennials). Thank you ever so much for all your wisdom, candor, and above all, heart.
I must say that this email from you is one of the delights of my week. I know it can be a struggle week after week after one has made a commitment so publicly. Thank you Jeff.
Jeff, I recently stumbled across your newsletter and I'm grateful for it! I'm someone who's not religious - I'm very wary of Christianity because of the negative, exclusionary messages I hear on behalf of that religion. But when I read your writing, I have... faith - in people, openness and honesty, vulnerability, connection. So thank you!
I've loved reading the story of your life this year Jeff. As a widow who turned 80 this year, I have been keeping pretty close to home. I lost my youngest daughter to cancer in May and was just blessed with the birth of my 11th great-granddaughter last week. Such terrible heartbreak and now such joy. I am so very thankful for my family and friends.
I have to take a moment to make sure you know how you have been a light in the darkness Jeff. Like so many others, this year has brought much into sharp focus. Without my church around me as I was used to... in strange new territory I’d never explored, and grieving the suicide of a friend I was in a pretty dark and self loathing place. Then a friend told me I had to hear a podcast about compost. I thought it sounded unlikely... turned out to be brilliant. Your theology in compost has become a pivotal point in my personal life story. Without it I’m not sure what life would be now honestly. I’m actually speaking about it in the the midst of a message God had. Been working in me all year. Evolving faith has been key in so many way, and I am now sharing it with anyone who will hold still long enough to listen. You have impacted much more than the 8,000 who check in with the EF family... because we are leaving seeds along our paths as we go into the darkness.
Thank you.
Thank you for the beauty of compost that you shared with me.
Thank you for your faithfulness to do things that make you uncomfortable (like podcast) and emails sent out to friends whom you’ve never met.
Thank you.
I am thankful for my cat and his snuggles. I am so thankful for my little home, a place I have spent more time this year than ever.....I realize just how thankful I am for these walls and floors and dinner plates.
I also find myself thankful for Instagram, just so I can see other people every day.
I very much feel like, in a rather unexpected turn of events, 2020 gave the concept of church BACK to me. It was something I had given up on about a decade ago, but this year the Internet showed me that it was still out there, and welcoming, and healing, even for me. So thank you for being part of that.
Gratitude abounds.
Thank you for this Jeff. My Dad died unexpectedly on Dec. 22 due to complications from Covid. Yes, he had a lot (A LOT) of other health problems, but he and my step-mom had been so very careful the past 9 months to try to protect him. It still wasn't enough. Right now I am still angry, don't feel like celebrating survival, and really not too jolly about the new year. I appreciate your mixed feelings on it. It also reminds me that I do need to look for the joy I DID experience this past year. And you are so right about #GBBC and Olivia Coleman.
I have surprised myself this year with things I ended up grateful for... given how difficult a year it was... but here's some of them
1 - my fur-friend confused cat who thinks he should be by my side at all times & has been full of mischief and affection through an extended lockdown
2 - evolving faith - I knew I couldn't abandon my faith completely but I also wanted nothing to do with it in what I saw... this was an olive branch and a gift that helped me realise that I am not alone and that there are many many many good people out here in a wilderness
3 - community - in a weird turn of events I found myself going from virtually no local community/friendships to a small circle of tight-knit friendships formed during a strict lockdown & that has made the world of difference... and is very tied to evolving faith as well, as coincidentally we all have found ourselves on similar paths - we have shared episodes & thoughts & it has been a beautiful oasis
4 - these writings - they have been food for thought and I feel like each time I read them I am both comforted & inspired at the same time.
I am so grateful for your ministry. This weekly missive from you that I share on my Facebook page every week, and almost always get a comment like, "thanks for sharing this, he has such good things to say." And for the Evolving Faith conference, a gift which continues to give as I make new friend and connections, read new authors, hear new music. It has been one of the bright spots in this hard, strange year. Thank you.
Peace and grace in the new year! Your words have sustained me many times!
I look so forward to receiving your emails! You are always a breath of fresh air and inspiration-especially during these challenging times! Thank you for continuing to share your meaningful insights that are so uplifting, and for being such a bright light with your relatability and words of encouragement! I so appreciate you! Wishing you a peaceful and blessed transition in to 2021!
Thank you, Jeff. Im pulling for you from Chicago.
I’m grateful for a group of friends who support and encourage each other.
I’m also grateful for my church and that the 18 months it took to call a new pastor was worth the wait. Erica Cooper became the new pastor at Baptist Church of the Covenant in Birmingham, Al. It makes me so happy to be able to say that this church is such a safe place for ALL peoples!
My dog, Agatha has been a constant source of entertainment. And I’m grateful for card games with my teenage son - he was so bored he took up company with me.
Today one of my friends in my most precious girl group asked us for our worst and best moment of 2020. Just considering the question made me have all sorts of complex emotions and I was grateful, like you, that it was balanced - not all sunshine and roses with the flip of a calendar page (paper reference for the millennials). Thank you ever so much for all your wisdom, candor, and above all, heart.