I believe that God has been and is still, speaking. Some professing Christians may disagree. But I believe that God always has and he always will, speak. I see evidence in the bible that God speaks to people in the following ways and I believe that all of them continue to be valid: CREATION. How many… Continue reading I Believe that God Still Speaks
Conquering the Intercession Fatigue that Cultural Stress Creates
Have you ever experienced “intercession fatigue” due to frustration, negativity and even anger towards those whom God has clearly called you to love and serve? I have. This can often be of particular challenge to cross-cultural missionaries due to culture stress. Most long-term missionaries work through the grueling process of culture shock as they make a new country their… Continue reading Conquering the Intercession Fatigue that Cultural Stress Creates
The Week Our Neighbor Died, Here in Our Small Village
Last weekend our neighbor died. I'm still thinking about it because the circumstances around his death and the response to his death are nothing I've ever experienced. And, it was our children's first encounter with death, up-close. Beto was 23. He was born and lived his entire life in this little village called Cacalotepec (population:… Continue reading The Week Our Neighbor Died, Here in Our Small Village
Called to Live in the Epitome of Weakness
Today I flunked an exam. It does not feel good. I am in Spanish language school, full-time. All "good" missionaries study language intensively in order to communicate with the people whom they seek to serve. And of course God gives all "good" missionaries a natural aptitude to master a second language. Or not. … Continue reading Called to Live in the Epitome of Weakness
Fix Your Eyes, Set Your Mind, Move Forward and You Will Not Drown
Our dog almost drowned. My husband and oldest son thought it would be CRAZY fun to paddle in our tandem kayak at full speed from the calm brackish river straight into the foaming mouth of the Pacific Ocean. Our little super-dog did not want to miss out. He ran into the river… Continue reading Fix Your Eyes, Set Your Mind, Move Forward and You Will Not Drown
Love People Even When it Doesn’t Pay Off, Simply Because You Love Jesus
A reading of John 21 shows us that six of Jesus' disciples returned to their nets after three years of living life under his teaching. They returned to fishing after his crucifixion, after his resurrection and after his glorified appearance to them. After their initial obedience to Jesus' call to "follow me", they went back… Continue reading Love People Even When it Doesn’t Pay Off, Simply Because You Love Jesus
Understanding Money in Relation to Missionaries: What You Need to Know
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… Continue reading Understanding Money in Relation to Missionaries: What You Need to Know
What It’s Like for a Missionary Family to Return to the US 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.… Continue reading What It’s Like for a Missionary Family to Return to the US on Furlough
Studying The Prayers of the Bible: Nuggets from Genesis through 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… Continue reading Studying The Prayers of the Bible: Nuggets from Genesis through Leviticus
Surprise Pregnancy at 40: How Do We Respond When God Does the Unexpected?
I'll be 40 when this August comes around. With our other children being almost 16, 11 and 7 it has been years since I changed a diaper, bought a sippy cup or had to plan my day around nap times. It is an understatement to write that I'm relieved those days are over. I never was… Continue reading Surprise Pregnancy at 40: How Do We Respond When God Does the Unexpected?
The Night Jesus Came Off the Streets and into our Home through a Woman named Salome
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… Continue reading The Night Jesus Came Off the Streets and into our Home through a Woman named Salome
Studying Through the Prayers of the Bible: Genesis Cries
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… Continue reading Studying Through the Prayers of the Bible: Genesis Cries
Why I Quit 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 joined… Continue reading Why I Quit Facebook
Something Beautiful: One Day in the Life of My Husband and of Me
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… Continue reading Something Beautiful: One Day in the Life of My Husband and of Me
We Are 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… Continue reading We Are Intended for Wholeness
Be The One Who Stops By the Side of the Road
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… Continue reading Be The One Who Stops By the Side of the Road
The Story of our House Helper: The Power of the Gospel is Greater than Power Distance
"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… Continue reading The Story of our House Helper: The Power of the Gospel is Greater than Power Distance
Easter Here is Not the Same as Easter There
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.
Finding the Meaning of Home in a Foreign Land
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.
A Scroll of Remembrance: Out of Secondary Infertility and Into A Gift
After the birth of our now 14-year old Larsen, I experienced several years of secondary infertility. Losing our first babe and then the miracle of our oldest son, we wondered if perhaps we would have only one biological child. I remember those years. Lars would lay his little hands on my tummy and pray, with… Continue reading A Scroll of Remembrance: Out of Secondary Infertility and Into A Gift
I Have Finally Accepted That I Cannot Change the World: The Deep Work of Humbling a Missionary
When I was a girl, I often read biographies. Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa stand out the most and I can still remember the shape and smell of those library pages and where I was when the ideas shook my little spirit from side to side, waking me up… Continue reading I Have Finally Accepted That I Cannot Change the World: The Deep Work of Humbling a Missionary
When It Seems Jesus Isn’t Doing Enough
"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" He asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" - John 11:33-36 Like you, I live… Continue reading When It Seems Jesus Isn’t Doing Enough
The Strange Gift of Disillusionment
Last week while hiking, my husband and I saw a man in black speedo-like underwear and a straw hat walking through a cactus field, tapping with a slender stick the almost ripe napoles, three scraggly dogs marching in a line behind him. We hardly blinked. This morning I passed a stately white horse--the tallest horse I have… Continue reading The Strange Gift of Disillusionment
A Letter to My Girl on Becoming a Woman
You, my effervescent beautiful little girl, are appointed to become a woman one day. I think on this often and there are some things I want you to know. Really know. They have been my revelations. May they become your declarations. You were first imagined in the mind of God and thrust into human… Continue reading A Letter to My Girl on Becoming a Woman
The Humility of Literally Hitting Culture Shock
After seven months of living here in Mexico, I finally hit culture shock. Slammed right into it. Literally. Being a mother and a wife with the inner compulsion to tend to my family and walk them well through their phases of adjustment, I came in last place to the inevitable. We know the textbook definition… Continue reading The Humility of Literally Hitting Culture Shock
Initial Descriptions of My New Country: Mexico
It is time I write down some of my observations of living in Mexico as my fresh eyes are becoming more accustomed to the culture around me. So, this is for my own records and for many of my friends who have asked me what life is like here. For many of you with young… Continue reading Initial Descriptions of My New Country: Mexico
On Behalf of Women and Children, Evoke the Name of Jesus With Me!
The plight of women and children here in Mexico and specifically where we live in the Puebla/Cholula area breaks my heart. Yesterday alone I was approached in my vehicle by 3 women and 4 children (under about the age of 8). One woman was about 8 months pregnant with three beautiful brown snotty-nosed children trailing… Continue reading On Behalf of Women and Children, Evoke the Name of Jesus With Me!
Don’t Waste Your Motherhood
Mothering is all about disciple-making. Take that element out of the equation and what you have left is at its best is ooey-goey nurturing and perhaps the production of good citizens and a relatively healthy family environment where you've kissed boo-boos, kept them fed and clothed and ensured their academic potential and even… Continue reading Don’t Waste Your Motherhood
A Child Shall Lead Them.
Because these are the things I want to remember. The little things that might actually be the big things... Me: C'mon with me Doctor Anders to the hand doctor. Brush your teeth, change the shirt you have now worn for three days in a row, tie your shoes, make sure you have underwear on and… Continue reading A Child Shall Lead Them.
Even In A Grocery Store: Join Me in Blessing A Dream
Last week, I did a bit of grocery shopping alone. If you are/have ever been a mother of young children, you understand how delicious this is to linger in the car with your own uninterrupted thoughts and then emerge to be able to actually acknowledge the world around you. It makes a parent feel rather… Continue reading Even In A Grocery Store: Join Me in Blessing A Dream
Silly Little Cyst: Why Sometimes God Doesn’t Miraculously Heal
On Monday I went to a local para-church ministry to meet with the special health program administer. This is a service that helps non-insured, low income people not eligible for Medicaid (such as myself) get coverage for medical care such as surgeries. For the several months I have had a ganglion cyst growing on my left wrist,… Continue reading Silly Little Cyst: Why Sometimes God Doesn’t Miraculously Heal