With Love from Your Single Friend in the Church

by kateberkey | Oct 3, 2019 | Stumbling to Jesus

This feels like a really delicate thing to write about. These words let you see inside the world of Kate in a way that feels exposing and scary and deeply vulnerable. But I don’t think I’m alone here, so, dear friend, if you’ll give me the space, I’ll try to tell my...

Why We Need to have the Courage to Look our Neighbor in the Eye

by kateberkey | Sep 19, 2019 | Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary, Stumbling to Jesus

I was 14 years old when I first remember looking pain and injustice in the eye. I was staring into the face of a girl laying in a Romanian orphanage crib. She had a mop of curly brown hair on her head and tiny bones. Her deep brown eyes seemed vacant until she heard...

Stumbling into Holy Ground Moments Around the Table of Refugees

by kateberkey | Sep 12, 2019 | Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary, Seek Justice. Love Mercy., Stumbling to Jesus

Last week I was invited to a space I had no business being in.  It was an honor.It was a privilege. It was humbling.  I made sure to take off my shoes before I walked into the friend of my friend’s home partly because of culture and partly because of...

The Simple Practice that Changes [Almost] Everything

by kateberkey | Sep 6, 2019 | Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary, Stumbling to Jesus

I like to think of myself as a pretty joyful person—quick to point out beauty even in the mess, to see hope even when reality is bleak, to notice Jesus even in our splintered stories. But somedays, joy isn’t quick to come. Somedays, it seems to hide in the shadows. On...

It’s not You Who Makes the Trees Grow

by kateberkey | Aug 9, 2019 | Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary, Stumbling to Jesus

I can’t work my way out of this. “This” seems to change in every season. Sometimes “this” is some kind of problem. It’s a situation that’s out of my control. It’s a sticky relational battle. Sometimes “this” is a goal or a vision for the way I think things should be....

Finding Joy Even When Something Feels Missing

by kateberkey | Jul 17, 2019 | Finding the Sacred in the Ordinary, Stumbling to Jesus

This place is oddly quiet.  I’ve grown used to the sound of fans, air con units, dogs barking halfway across town, birds chirping loudly by 5 AM. I’ve grown used to the sound of the water pump outside of my window, my neighbor’s incessant coughing and high...