My dad used to have some succinct sayings to get his points across, as in, “ain’t got the brains God gave a goose.” This pronouncement, often hurled at politicians, portrayed a questionable bias directed toward a certain variety of bird-brained intelligence. As I heard it, I felt a sympathy toward all geese. And another, […]
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I have some dear friends, whom I love very much even though they run. I mean really run. On purpose. Because they like it. They have a few years up on me, yet they are forever completing some big mileage run. They do this with smiles on their faces. And they look good. And they […]
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His big round eyes followed me. His little face filled with confusion, fear, and betrayal. I read his silent plea as if the words had been spoken, “Don’t leave me.” As I turned from the classroom, I remembered my son’s first baby vaccination, when those trusting eyes looked at me, startled, hurting, and as if […]
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“Gotta be thick-skinned to survive ministry,” advised a pastor to my young husband. “I’d never have continued if I’d let every criticism get under my skin.” As a pastor’s wife and mother, I found criticism and church-goer barbs dug deep when slung my way. They seemed to hurt even more if they were hurled at […]
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So, my husband moved the big trash container outside, you know the move-once-a-week hunker on wheels? It’s a job he accomplishes without thinking much about what might or could happen. Well, guess what was underneath? I believe the analogies of finding a copperhead snake coiled under the trashcan are unlimited. A jungle-man of missionary-offspring with […]
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“He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NKJV) 50. The Big 5-0. 5 Decades. A Half Century. As a bride, I had no idea. I thought people who had been married five years were already old. I recognize how rare it is, to hit a 50th wedding anniversary. […]
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I was my big brothers’ TV remote. I can still hear their call. Through the bleaching heat waves of Kansas, over the baked and cracked ground, their summons reached me. Underfoot brown farm grass crunched crispy-fried. An adoring mutt panted at my side, his long tongue hung red and wet. I loved being outside in […]
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“Just hang on,” he told me. I was at the wrong end of a washing machine stuck cattywampus in the stairwell half-way down to the basement. The heavy metal box towered above as I tried to hold it from sliding on top of me. I did just as he said, I hung on. I didn’t […]
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A shadow, long and wide, interrupted the sunshine for just a moment and then glided over the bright green foliage. My grandson and I squinted into the blue above us. We saw the outstretched wings of a big black hawk as it soared above the trees. It’s shadow slithered over us. For just a moment […]
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You were at boarding school and we were six hours from you in our ministry. Our first and oldest to fly from home, you seemed far too young, and we felt so unready. But, the label “Missionary Kid” found a home with other third-world high-schoolers from all over Europe. And for the first time, you […]
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