Monday Morning Joe: Self-Differentiation
Over the past few weeks, I have highlighted programs and people who exemplify what it means to be an agent in God’s mission to heal the world, and how the YMCA of OKC is an agent in God’s mission to heal Oklahoma City. This morning, I want to pause highlighting our programs and people, and […]
Monday Morning Joe: Agent in God’s Mission
In March of 2021, the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City partnered with the Inasmuch Foundation and McLaughlin Family Foundation to provide a free sports league of third and fourth-grade students in the Oklahoma Public Schools district. In the midst of Covid and a school system trying to reopen, the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City stepped into […]
Monday Morning Joe: Transform the Community
The Book of Nehemiah is an interesting historical perspective on the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the exile. It is a very personal, specific account of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem from Nehemiah’s point of view. The story goes like this: The words of Nehemiah: In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I […]
Monday Morning Joe: A Cup of Joe for Two
Welcome to a special Monday Morning Joe! Monday Morning Joe Presents: A Cup of Joe for Two. An informal interview with YMCA staff and volunteers throughout the Greater OKC area share their story, their passions, and how the Y creates space for them to live into their passion. Today, you will hear from Shade Jalo, […]
MONDAY MORNING JOE: Heal the World
One of my favorite programs the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City offers is called Getting Ahead. Getting Ahead is a program that fights poverty head on by offering a free 16-week program that works with individuals to help them set their goals, build a network of support, and discover resources to create a more stable […]
MONDAY MORNING JOE: Finding Joy
Christmas is the most joyful time of the year, we are told. I know for some; Christmas can be a difficult time of the year filled with loneliness, depression, isolation, cold days, long nights, trauma, missing loved ones. It may seem strange think to take a moment and think about the theme of joy during […]
MONDAY MORNING JOE: Waiting for Peace
The second week of Advent in the Christian church usually centers around the theme of peace. Peace on earth and goodwill towards all. As the old hymn proclaims, “Peace on earth, can it be? Years from, perhaps we’ll see the day of glory, the day when men of goodwill live in peace again.” Peace is […]
MONDAY MORNING JOE: The Importance of Hope
This week in my faith tradition, we make a turn towards Christmas and enter a season of waiting called Advent. In the Christian tradition, Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day, followed by the 12 days of Christmas. It is a time of preparation, a time in which those who believe prepare […]
MONDAY MORNING JOE: Navigate the Darkness
We all have a movie scene, lyric, quote, or something similar that lives rent free in our heads. For me there are two: One is from Casablanca, and the other from the LOTR Two Towers. As the uruk-hai descend on Helms Deep, Theoden falls into hopelessness. He had hoped the stronghold would hold out and […]
MONDAY MORNING JOE: Shine the Light
I grew up in a culture that encouraged shining our light so others would see the goodness of God’s love. But that same culture got nervous when your light attracted a certain type of people or when it challenged the status quo. Being a light in a dark world can be scary because it shines […]
