“What’s God been teaching you through His Word?” I ask as we settle in, past the mundane of life. We’ve left behind kids, jobs, routines, and the cycle of activities that spin our lives. It is this question, which brings a smile. The atmosphere changes from just friendship small talk to things that really matter, […]
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When my daughter woke up on the day which changed all of our lives, it started pretty much like every other day. She felt a bit dizzy. She checked her temperature, but she didn’t have a fever. Yet, as the day wore on, a strange novocain numbness began its terrifying creep up her left side. […]
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I love the Holidays. Always have. Hopefully always will. Yet, as seasons pass, new challenges arise and I find at times a sense of melancholy seeps into this time of year. I recognize how much I’ve looked forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas for distraction, a temporary reprieve, a pocket of “happy” in a world of […]
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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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“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. […]
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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!” […]
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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 […]
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“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 […]
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“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 […]
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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 […]
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