I grew up largely in a Christian bubble. Most of my childhood and even teenage years were spent almost exclusively around other believers. In many ways, I’m incredibly thankful for that. The other part of me knows that that’s not what Jesus calls us to. He doesn’t call us to stay comfortable, and be surrounded by other believers all the time. Yes, community is very important. But being around people who are not like us - people who think differently, look differently and even act differently - is important. It’s important for us to grow our own faith but it’s also an awesome way for us to be a Light in this dark world. If you have school-aged kids, you have an incredible opportunity and responsibility to make an impact for Jesus in your kids’ school. In some situations, you won’t be able to be as open, but all of us can, and should, be intentional about being the hands and feet of Jesus. And our kids’ schools is an awesome place for that. My oldest is in elementary school and she is at a public school for the first time. The beginning of the year was a strange [...]

Getting after grateful by sharing ten of the businesses whose products and services enable some of the main functionality features of the swHw ministry. What they do allows us to connect and serve you on the regular, so this is our way of saying THANK YOU to each of you for what you do! (Check them out - you may find something that would be helpful in your work too!) #1: Basecamp What they say: Basecamp is more than just a project management tool — it’s an elevated way to work. Teams that switch to Basecamp become better teams. They’re more productive and better organized. They communicate better and require fewer meetings. And they’re far more efficient than before. Being better is a choice — choose Basecamp. What we say: Our team uses Basecamp daily. We have all of our months broken down into different projects with to do lists, docs/files, message boards, and group chats. You can set work hours so you don’t receive notifications during family time or when you aren’t working. This has been a game changer for us as a team! #2: DropBox What they say: These days, everything is smart—your phone, your credit card, your car, maybe even your house. [...]