I was talking with my counselor/coach/spiritual director the other day. She’s a woman. An amazing person. I feel so fortunate to have run across her.

I was sharing with her my vision for this site, my frustrations in trying to build a perfect place, and my doubts I wrestle with every day concerning this site.

Negative emails regularly come my way. People love to criticize what I do. First of all they don’t like my cartoons. Then it’s my theology. Now it’s the fact that I’m trying to build an online community, and that there’s a subscription fee. I struggle with all this stuff.

My counselor helped me. She suggested that what I’m doing is very feminine. I’m building a nest, a container, a home. I’m providing a safe place for people to gather, let down their guard, and be edified. Many people won’t understand it because it is so different from what’s going on out there. How many safe places are there for people out there to lose their religion, lose their tradition, and even lose their faith? Not many. She also reminded me, and it’s true, that building such a container and maintaining it is a job. It takes a lot of time and a lot of compassionate care to make sure it is the safe and supportive place it is supposed to be.

Women have been my greatest guides.

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