[Book Review] Nine Thoughts That Can Change Your Marriage

“I have fed my children chocolate cake for breakfast, although I did so only because they saw me eating it first and it seemed fair. I don’t always dust. I go to McDonald’s too often. And I don’t order the salads.” Any woman who begins chapter one with such a confession, is a woman after my … Continue reading →

[Book Review] Messy Grace

For months now, a friend and I have been emailing from across the world as we wrestle with, read about, and pray through our interactions with the conversations surrounding the LGBT community (and more recently, the U.S. Supreme Court decision). For me, it’s been a beautiful process of typing out the thoughts and questions in my head and … Continue reading →

Three Years

We stood in front of the middle school, the watermark above my head. The clock stood still, refusing to move for the past three years. 4:04. Calendar pages flapped with the slight wind blowing through the empty classroom. 2011 is not letting go. Three years vacant; three years grieving. Sixty cars lined up in the … Continue reading →

Thin Silence

Part 1: Immeasurably More | Part 2: Beauty in Waiting | Part 3: The Rock God Moved Soon after our time in Kosovo, tired and weary from travel, I sit down at a small café in Skopje, Macedonia. I attempt to order some kind of caffeinated beverage, which results in a delicious iced macchiato. Success. The lack of Wi-Fi directs … Continue reading →

The Rock God Moved

This is part three. Click the links to read the past two posts: Part One: Immeasurably More | Part Two: Beauty in Waiting  We walked silently across the green bridge in Wrocław. To speak would mean our dreams we held onto in that moment would not come true. At least, that’s what our tour guide, Marta, told us. … Continue reading →

Beauty in Waiting

This is part two of this story. Read part one here: Immeasurable More. In the first book of the Bible, God makes a man called Abram a weighty promise: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you.” What does … Continue reading →

Immeasurably More

I set my vanilla rooibos down on the table that faces the window. I plug in my earphones, put the buds in my ear, join the Starbucks Wi-Fi and open the Pandora app: John Mark McMillan. I open my Bible. The music starts playing. I’m shaking. I blink, then stare at my Bible. I open … Continue reading →

Fading Memories

Mrs. S. came in each Monday with freshly manicured nails. I like the way they clicked on the chalkboard or on the paper in front of us. I put paperclips on my fingertips so mine would make the same sound. I learned cursive that year. Our class also learned how to walk in a straight … Continue reading →

The Tightrope Walker

Picture a tightrope walker. Scared, but brave. She has an umbrella. It’s brightly colored with fanciful designs on it, though you can barely see that from the ground. She stops walking. Her body jolts to readjust her balance as she holds the umbrella out in front of her. She opens it. Now you can see the … Continue reading →

Writing a Support Letter I Want to Read

Raising money for a missions trip is one of the top reasons why people don’t go. But one of the many things I’ve learned over the past few years is that when a missionary goes, a community sends. It needs to be that way. God uses the process of raising support in the life of … Continue reading →