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…
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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…
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…
Another Aspect of Culture Shock: 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…
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…
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…
I Am Here.
Originally posted on ANGELA BLYCKER:
My new daughter cries in the middle of the night; she is hungry and needs the nourishment only I, her mother can give. My presence always comes to her before the milk as I whisper “Mama is here, Mama’s here”. She screams in the car seat the entire time we go from…
What Life is Like, Here.
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…
Take Your Place.
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…
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 cultural savvy-ness,…
