Author: Jen Manglos
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Loss and Gain
This year has been one full of funerals. I’m up to four so far and soon will hit number five. I don’t mean to be crass and spout off my funeral attendance like baseball stats, but I’ve never lost so many people I’ve known in such a short amount of time. My most recent loss…
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Jesus: Friend in Suffering and Joy
So often I have found comfort in reflecting on Jesus’ journey to the cross. He who has been abandoned, rejected, and abused understands our suffering, because he himself has suffered. He is not removed from the human experience, but instead embraced his humanity fully. I’ve become increasingly grateful for the season of Lent as it presents…
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Hello Again
I keep feeling as though 2015 has just begun. And then I look at a calendar and realize it’s almost May. Crap! It has been months since I’ve posted on the blog. In January I had some health issues arise. There was a cancer scare (thankfully no cancer was found). Surgery. Recovery. I won’t go…
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Welcome to the Process: A Glimpse of Rose Park Roasters
Stories are all about tension. I mean, who would sit down and watch a movie without some sort of tension? I attended this fabulous story workshop a couple of years ago. In it I learned that at its most basic level, a story is about a person who wants one particular thing, and then through…
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Journey into 2015
Last weekend I led a group of small group leaders through a time of reflecting on 2014 and looking ahead to 2015. I’m posting it here as a resource for you as you begin this new year. The exercise takes about an hour and a half. You will need a journal, a separate piece of…
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Welcome to 2015
Happy New Year my friends! Here I am, back to the writing game after a lovely respite this Christmas season. Every time I take a break I experience some awkwardness as I re-enter my rhythms as a writer. Typically, I doubt my ability to write or just feel as though I have nothing to write…
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Advent: A Thrill of Hope
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. A chill ran through my body as I sang this line from a long-loved song. In this season, which has been marked by heaviness, my heart captured a glimpse of the hope Jesus brings. Last week I attended a Christmas service at my friend’s church. It was…
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Soul Food: Pork Shoulder Steak
Pork Shoulder Steak By Tom Unfried So there we were in the fall of 1995, back at the hospital just a short time after our son Christian had been released after months of treatment for a bone marrow transplant. Complaining of severe pain in his abdomen, we knew the drill: get him to Children’s Hospital…
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Advent: Space
In case my previous posts weren’t obvious enough, this has been a challenging Christmas for me. It is in no way the worst Christmas ever (see last Friday’s post for details on that one), but this year has been a heavier, more somber holiday season. As I’ve shared my heart these last couple of weeks,…
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Soul Food: The Hamlet
The Hamlet By Jen Manglos It was my family’s worst Christmas ever. No, I’m not saying that for dramatic effect. It truly was. We were in the mist of my brother’s struggles with depression and suicide. He was in the mental hospital and furious at my parents for putting him there. And a Merry Friggin’…