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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God Never Needs Updating
“It needs an update,” my husband says. He wasn’t talking about me, which is a good thing. For us both. Phones, computers, thermostats, security systems, clocks, TV’s, GPS systems. I mean really? Have you noticed how many things need updating? “They aren’t talking,” he sighs, with a kind of long extended tire-flattening sound. […]
Continue ReadingHow Do You See People?
I tilt my head a bit to look for myself in his stick figure drawing. I wonder is this truly how he sees me? He waits. “Is that me?” I ask. Pen in hand, like Picasso, he nods. Proudly. Seriously. I resist the “looks just like me,” response and go for the, “that’s so good!” […]
Continue ReadingYou Are Not Invisible to God
I heard the bang of a metal door next to me before I leaned down for that “underneath” the gas-station-bathroom-stall search. In my bent over rectangular view, two thick-soled black shoes shuffled against the dirty tile floor. Their slow slide inched forward with obvious effort. Once abreast of my stall door, they would block […]
Continue ReadingIf Jesus Wanted To
“If Jesus wanted to,” my little seven-year-old fellow classmate declared, “He could flatten my thumb and make it big enough to go around the whole world.” He held his thumb inches from my wide eyes. I stared at it without saying a word. I could almost see it spread and widen. I imagined it circling […]
Continue ReadingJesus’ Ascension: What Makes This Good-bye Different?
“See that Momma?” a little voice by my side questioned. His face tilted up toward the sky. His eyes squinted against the brightness. I followed the line from where his finger pointed to see a grouping of magnificent clouds with a golden center. Light streamed through in breathtaking rays. “That’s how it’s gonna look when […]
Continue ReadingI Wish My Kids Had Known My Mom Like I Did
I wish my kids had known her better, the woman I called Mom. I would like to have them remember how her hands flew over the piano keys, and see the line of piano students that came to the front door for lessons. I wish they knew how every day after school she waited for […]
Continue ReadingWhere to Set Our Attention in an Attention Shifting World
Thor belongs to four of my grandchildren. He is a Vizsla with a beautiful brown coat and liquid brown eyes which clearly speak dog-beg. He knows exactly how to sit at your feet and patiently ask without saying a word. I’ve watched my grandchildren teach him to set his attention on their command, without shifting […]
Continue ReadingMeasure Your Heart of Thanksgiving
“We will be measuring your daughter for a wheel chair at 3:00 this afternoon,” the nurse told me with a cheerful smile on her face. Befuddled images traced vellum pages on my mind. A bridal shop. A pencil line on the kitchen door frame. Stepping paces at a freezing high school track meet. I treasured […]
Continue ReadingWhatever State You are In Today
Whatever State You are In Today “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” Philippians 4:11 NKJV So what state did you wake up in? Red, blue, maybe a little purple? Sometimes I wonder why the Apostle Paul had to go and be such […]
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