{"id":7071,"date":"2017-02-10T06:37:35","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T12:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=7071"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:41:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:41:46","slug":"into-the-darkness-awkward-yet-unafraid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2017\/02\/10\/into-the-darkness-awkward-yet-unafraid\/","title":{"rendered":"Into the darkness: awkward yet unafraid"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am gripping ski poles through fleece-lined mittens, my feet secured to cross-country skis. My arms and legs slide back and forth, propelling me forward along the trail.<\/p>\n

I have only been in these woods on this bright Saturday morning for about 10 minutes, but my warm breath is already fogging up my thick glasses. The snow is slightly crusty and slick, so each motion makes a crunching sound in the otherwise quiet woods.<\/p>\n

This is only my second time venturing out onto this trail this winter, but this time I feel more awkward than before. I first fell as I tried to secure the skis to the boots, and I have been slipping all over the trail since. Yes, I enjoy skiing, but by no means am I …<\/p>\n

[This is the beginning of my latest column for the online newspaper,\u00a0<\/em>Global Sisters Report<\/a>. Continue reading here<\/a>.]<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
Photo by Julia Walsh FSPA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am gripping ski poles through fleece-lined mittens, my feet secured to cross-country skis. My arms and legs slide back and forth, propelling me forward along the trail. I have only been in these woods on this bright Saturday morning for about 10 minutes, but my warm breath is already fogging up my thick glasses....","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":5594,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[115341],"tags":[8792,698755374,20276,2652,67908,401,251738,6406728,660,197,23966,2342324,9484],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-7071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","tag-adventure","tag-community","tag-courage","tag-dark","tag-darkness","tag-faith","tag-falling","tag-gospel-living","tag-people","tag-relationships","tag-skiing","tag-time-of-darkness","tag-winter","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/100_8357-scaled.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"
Into the darkness: awkward yet unafraid<\/a><\/blockquote>