Tim Challies hit it out of the park again with a fantastic blog on friendship/accountability. Let me tease you with a tiny excerpt and then encourage you to pop on over to his site to read the entire post: “Too many accountability relationships end there. They are incomplete, ending with sin or with sympathy. Confession is necessary and we may well sympathize with one another as we discuss sins that are common to all men. But we cannot and must not end there. Instead we must take those sins to the cross. My pastor gave the wise advice Wednesday night that we must be prepared not only to look each…

Oh my! Have you ever been guilty of these GOSPEL COUNTERFEITS?! Oh oh oh–I am running to the Cross. (And heading home in my first of three airports for the day! 🙂 THANK YOU for your prayers and encouraging emails. I believe (and hope!) that I served these dear, DEAR, women in Maryland well. I did my best! That’s all we can do, right?)   Grace to you! Yours, Tara B.  

Earlier this week I had a troubled night … restless, intense dreams, awake multiple times with FAILURE after FAILURE, SIN after SIN just pummeling my heart and mind. But one time in the night I awoke from my tossing and turning and found I was singing inside my heart: “No guilt in life! No fear in death! This is the power of Christ in me!” And then I went to sleep. Today? I am here, weak, tired, a little sad … but SO longing to encourage and bless these dear women! SO longing to worship God and help others to do the same. And this is the cry of my…

Just a note to let you know that I am safe and sound on the east coast. I flew into Pennsylvania, and I’m currently in a hotel in, I think, New Jersey, and tomorrow we’ll go to a retreat center in … hmmmm … (had to go and look it up!) … Maryland. Fever was lower this morning at 4AM when I started my trek from Montana, so here’s hoping that I can serve, teach, and love these dear women well. I probably won’t have internet access again until Sunday night–but if I can, I’ll try to catch up on some blogging. THANKS for the cards & emails & kind…

It might be hard to believe, but I’m getting worse health-wise. My working hypothesis is that when my immune system was down, I actually acquired FRED’s flu … so rather than getting better, I’m just on the down-tick of another virus. Blech. But all that aside … I DID make Fred laugh today, so that makes me happy. I brought in the mail and told him, “Great news! The Smiths wrote us!” The “Smiths” (not their real name) are these missionaries who, apparently, in 1989 (when Fred was NINETEEN) visited an Intervarsity meeting and Fred checked some sort of “stay in touch” box and now, for almost TWENTY YEARS they…

Just a little SHOUT OUT to say THANK YOU to Crossroads Presbyterian Church for the beautiful and encouraging card today! Perfect timing in light of the grouchy-just over-watered a plant and spilled water everywhere-kind-of-day I’m having. 🙂 ! I am very much looking forward to being with you all! Just a few weeks now. Boy! The time is flying.   Happy Wednesday– Tara B.