We get it.

I live in the inner city.  I'm raising my family in a place where my kids encounter prostitutes, drug dealers, guns and gangs.  I have days when I'm scared, but after 10 years of involvement in our community, I see the beauty as much as the pain.  I could never have come this far, or lasted this long, alone.  With this blog I want to be a part of the community that holds each other up.  I want to say: I get it.

While I love suburban, 2.4-child (and a dog) families with both parents, Biblically-literate and highly motivated kids... that's not where I minister.  I'm used to re-writing curriculum because, "children obey your parents" isn't as black-and-white as the lesson makes it sound - and adding an "except when what they tell you to do is illegal" just doesn't have the best ring to it.  I'm used to printing off animal colouring sheets because I just can't handle another week of white-kid-only printables.  I look at a craft ideas and think "what kind of budget can afford that?"  I find games where it's okay if only a third of the kids play it because I have bigger battles to fight than mandatory participation in a game.

So, I get it.  And I'm dedicating Mondays on this blog as the day that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder and encourage, equip and empathize with each other as we look at issues unique to urban ministry.