I have to be honest--I kind of enjoy putting out fires. Not actual fires, but ministry fires, work fires, task fires. When something has to get done NOW I don’t have time to think, to prioritize, to second-guess. I just get it done...and it’s done! It feels satisfying, efficient, and important. 

Crappy Dinners. 

Have you heard of these? 

Apparently, they’re designed to dismantle the pressure that many people feel when faced with the prospect of having people over for dinner. Maybe you are familiar with it - the almost compulsive need to clean up the house to make it presentable; to use the “fancy” glasses; to cook something “special”, but pull it off as normal. Crappy Dinners are supposed to challenge that compulsion, and in the face of guests arriving, invite you to not to tidy up, and not to cook anything out of the ordinary.  

A few years ago I came up with the phrase “Hood Grace.” I wanted the term to spark a movement in and around neighborhoods everywhere--especially in under-resourced areas where you’d think there were no redeeming qualities. I wanted “Hood Grace” to be a term that brought pride and ownership in those communities.