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Why Attending Amplify Is Worth It

Nowadays there are so many ways to sharpen your skills. You can listen to podcasts, read a blog or two, YouTube it, or even attend a webinar. So, why bother with the time and expense of an in-person conference like Amplify? As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Now, I’m no hunter, but [...]

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The Top 10 Blog Posts of 2017

These are the blog stories that resonated most with readers this year. They're stories about the unexpected unfolding, and the moments that exceed our expectations. They're stories about shedding assumptions, and gaining perspective. They're stories about searching — for identity, or for meaning in grief. And they're stories about finding — hope, community, [...]

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5 Reasons to Sign Up for a Dinner Group

2019 Dinner Groups resume the week of January 7th and new groups launch January 21st. You can sign up for a Dinner Group now! Dinner Groups are a great way to find a place to belong, start building community by engaging with God, all while having fun. Here are 5 reasons we think you should join us for [...]

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A Different Season

Typically, when I think of Thanksgiving I think about mouth-watering food spreads, board games with friends and family, children on sugar highs and long naps on a comfy big couch. But this year, my thoughts and feelings have been different. My Thanksgiving (and my family’s) will look different this year. This will be our first Thanksgiving without my mom. [...]

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Time to Hit the Pause Button

Amplify is a day when we all come together for one purpose – to draw closer to the One who loves us most. There are so many distractions throughout the week. We bounce back and forth between meetings, emails, brunches, and the list goes on and on. In the midst of all that, we often struggle to spend time alone with God. That’s where Amplify comes in. It’s a day to [...]

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Hopeful Grieving

I learned my mom’s disease was terminal the moment she was diagnosed. I remember the doctor coming out of surgery and ushering me into a quiet room that was just off from the waiting room. I sat anxiously awaiting the results from her surgery. “Your mom is in serious trouble,” he said. He was a kind doctor and his eyes told me he was deeply [...]

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Beach Day Away with God

“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). That was the verse at the top of the handout. My dinner group was taking a seaside retreat from our everyday lives. Piling into vehicles, we headed down to a member’s beach house for a Saturday of spiritual focus. There had been a storm the day before (with flood warnings), [...]

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The Stories That Connect Us

Before I ever set foot in Hoboken Grace, I spent an hour or so perusing its website. Hobokengrace.com was drastically different back then, and there wasn’t nearly as much content as there is now. But I got sucked into the video page – or maybe I’d been rerouted to YouTube, I can’t remember – and watched stranger after stranger share their [...]

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A Year and a Half of Chalkboarding

We were designing a new set for our stage when someone pointed out that chalkboards are everywhere in Hoboken. Before I could ask any questions, the rest of the group was jumping on board. Our new set debuted several months later, and I soon realized changing the artwork on these giant chalkboards was about to become a regular part of my life. And this [...]

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Defining Moment

You know how on social media, they let you set up your profile? It’s a way for people to identify you – a way for people to connect with you. You know what’s hard? When people have other people in their portrait picture. When that happens, I can’t tell who is who. Here’s my picture. Okay, maybe I don’t have a leg to stand on. They say that couples [...]

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A (Grown-Up) Love Story

Once upon a time, at a college far, far away, a girl met a boy. The boy’s name was Jose, and he was very good at math. The girl’s name was Liliana, and she was… not very good at math. “I had a tutor, but the tutor left. And I kept hearing about this one guy, Jose,” recalls Liliana. “Everyone kept talking about how great he was. At the tutoring [...]

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What’s Holding You Back?

Sometimes I don’t believe my head and my heart communicate with one another. Do you have this problem? I can tell myself 100 times: You need to get up and exercise because it benefits your health and wellness. Or, pick up that book you’ve been slowly working through, it’s better for your brain and vocabulary than binge-watching Netflix. But often my [...]

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Down in the Dumps

The other day, I felt pretty down in the dumps. I don’t know why, but I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Has this ever happened to you? You can’t explain it, but you’re just grumpy. I don’t mean those of you who need a morning coffee before you can speak, much less speak coherently and kindly. I mean just being grumpy — those times [...]

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The Surprising Colors of God’s Plan

It had been a long, frustrating day, trying to balance my website expansion with a desire to clean out closets. My life was changing, but this shift seemed to be taking so long. For several years I’d been re-examining priorities, refocusing my goals and working to make my career dreams a reality. But parts of my life still felt out of sync, and I was [...]

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