JUSTembrace loves to host our neighbors for big ol celebrations as often as we can! They are a ton of work, but every moment is loaded with the new Kingdom Jesus established for us to live into on earth! These parties provide glimpse upon glimpse of God’s desire to restore all things. Our entire community… Read more »

Last night at open house and small group I was overwhelmed by the deep love and compassion my neighbors have for me and my family. It is a real gift to know that my neighbors felt concern and fear right along with us when they first heard about dad’s stroke. My dad is Santa to… Read more »

Some thoughts to consider as you are bombarded with many ways to “give-back” in these final weeks of 2016. (including from us!) The other day I saw an ad in my Facebook feed from a local food pantry that said: “Feel Better – Make a Donation.” It reminded me that #GivingTuesday is right around the… Read more »

It was 5:30am when all 9 of us in the house woke up to the desperate screams of a woman being beaten.  At the sound of her screams, I grabbed my phone, dialing 911 as I staggered to my window to see where the yelps were coming from. I gave a groggy report to the… Read more »

We are having a GIRL! I’m not sure she is one of these, but if not, these are her siblings! She’s coming in just over a month!!!! Please consider celebrating with us with a gift towards our preparation for her arrival! You can read more about the story of how God led this little lady… Read more »

On February 28th, 2,000 miles away from the JUSTembrace community, in a loving home in California, 12 little golden retrievers were born to mother Posey and father Koa.  A few weeks later we got word that one of those puppies would be gifted to us, and take our restorative presence to a level we’ve been… Read more »

It’s been a week since Guy Oppedisano suddenly passed away.  We were gathered together for our weekly meeting on Sunday night when we got the call. In the span of 10 months, his is the 8th death to directly impact our community.  4 of those including Guy, were members of our intimate JUSTembrace family. Today,… Read more »

As the reality of Warren’s death is just beginning to sink in – I am ASTOUNDED at the graces we have been given. Grace Upon Grace. God has been so evident to us in this tragedy. Am I angry? Oh my goodness, yes! Am I heartbroken? I have only a taste of the grief that is… Read more »

Last night, as I walked outside to harvest the tomatoes, a detective was at the gate to inform me that our neighbor and community member Mike Primeau had been found deceased in his room across the street. It was what they call an unattended death, so they are doing an investigation to determine how he… Read more »

Guest post by Payton Zemke On a snowy, winter day in Chicago, I went out to shovel the snow before I headed to school. I had recently moved in to the JUSTembrace house in Uptown, Chicago and it had been the first place in the city I lived in that had a yard. So in… Read more »