In June while in Texas, I met a writer-friend in a chic little coffee shop. Jackie leaned forward and urged me with southern drama and drawl, “You gotta write out the things that scare you the worst, because those are the things that people need to hear the most.” Just days before this our family…
When A Missionary Returns to the USA on Furlough
My family and I have lived in Mexico for the past four years. In the last 48 months, we’ve only been back to the States for about 7 weeks. This means that over 96% of our last four years of life has been lived in Mexico. Our friends are there. Our pets are there….
The Prayers of Exodus and Leviticus
I have been slowly continuing my study of all the prayers of the Bible, having already completed and posted about the prayers of Genesis. Herbert Lockyer’s classic book has been my faithful guide and will continue to lead me through the rest of the prayers of the entire bible. I anticipate this will take me about…
Surprise Pregnancy at 40: How Do We Respond When God Does the Unexpected?
I’ll be 40 when this August comes around. On that same day our oldest son will turn 16. Just a week later our daughter will turn 7. And a month before our baby is due to arrive, our middle son will turn 11. It has been years since I changed a diaper, bought a sippy cup…
Jesus Came, and Was Called Salomé.
This year, my daily morning prayer goes something like this: ” I’m all yours, Jesus. I trust you. Fill me afresh Holy Spirit. Empower me to be love. Whatever, Papa God, whatever you desire today. Whomever you send to me today. Wherever you call me, I’ll go. Whatever you ask of me, I will give. Let…
The Prayers of Genesis.
Today I completed a year-long personal devotional and expositional study of the earliest concept of prayer and all the prayers recorded in the book of Genesis. Herbert Lockyer’s classic book has been my faithful guide and will continue to lead me through the rest of the prayers of the entire bible. Prayer, understood most simply…
The Benefits of Quitting Facebook.
It’s been over a year since I shut down my Facebook account. I quit cold turkey. There have been no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. Some called it social suicide, a hibernation of sorts from modern society. How would people get ahold of me and notify me of important news and happenings? Some cheered that I…
Something Beautiful: The Stories of One Day.
This is the story of my husband’s day yesterday and this is the story of mine: His: Benjamin drove a team of fifteen college-aged students out to a cistern work site in a village about an hour away, stopping to pick up more supplies on the way. He worked in cooperation with the local foreman in…
Top 10 Things Learned in the Last 23 Years: From Ben in Mexico.
Originally posted on ANGELA BLYCKER:
In March after ten years, we returned to Mexico to serve as a family for two weeks. Ben spoke to the students and staff at Puebla Christian school where he attended for six years, 23 years ago. Here I wanted to give you a peek into the heart of my…
Intended for Wholeness.
It was not the first time I had admired a certain vase made of burl wood sitting on table against a wall in my counselor-friend’s living room. Rounded yet uneven, it was sanded smooth to show the complexity of the grains and stood about 30 inches tall. No human hand had carved it out from…
So Many Roads.
My husband came to bed quite late the other night. I was still reading, when I should have slept. But I could hardly help myself. The book, which I am still carefully reading with a pencil in hand, is a wondrous true tale. It is a humble, elegantly written and engrossing work by a woman…
Power Distance and Gospel Power.
“Mama, she is sitting alone on the floor in the corner of my room with her plate, eating her lunch there!” cried my then 7-year old son. This was the second time we saw Tere, our once-a-week “maid” take her afternoon lunch break this way. Not only that, but she shuffled when she walked and…
Resurrection Day in San Pedro Cholula.
In a culture where the name of Jesus is not unknown to anyone, the meaning of His death and life is strangely obscure. Which is why, in some ways, it is said that it is harder to bring others to the Gospel here than in a Muslim country. Why? Here, they are so close, yet so far away. So very far away. Here, Jesus stays on the cross. His suffering is still happening and the more one can share in that suffering the greater one can earn favor in heaven and heaven itself. Which is why, when working in many of the villages where the more “simple” dwell, there is little grumbling or complaining. They are conditioned to be content with their lot in life not out of gratitude, but more so out of the belief that if they suffer well and suffer much, divine favor will rest upon them.
The Business of Getting Visas.
Becoming a missionary in foreign soil has a way of making your roots looser—the tentacles to this world don’t attach so tenaciously. How can they when you find yourself in a place that is utterly unlike all of your cultural programing? Your anchor is no longer hooked between the rocks of familiarity, but in Who is there when all those rocks roll away — Jesus.
Maintain Your Desire, Your Delight and Your Defense.
What is it that you desire? What is it that brings you delight? What or who do you depend to be your defense when you are being threatened? Go ahead, jot down your gut-reactions to these questions. We’ll come back to them. One August, when I was between the ages of 9-11, my mother introduced…
