A true survivor. That’s what I think of when I remember my maternal grandmother. She was a woman who experienced being left behind when, as a young bride, her husband sailed for America for a better life for his family; a tragic mishap in which her firstborn daughter was severely burned as an infant; traveling…
After a day of rest, Thursday of Holy Week was a full, pivotal day in the life and death of Jesus. The Gospel of John summarizes the beginning of Holy Week in one chapter (John 12) but devotes five and a half chapters to Thursday. Jesus shared the Passover (the Last Supper) with His Disciples,…
When I was young my grandma called it, “going home.” We would pile books and our pillows into the backseat and watch cities and farms go by on our nine hour drive from Georgia to the small-town in Indiana where my grandparents grew up. I visited cousins and went from house to house in this…
Most people in our generation will always remember where they were and what they were doing on September 11, 2001. It is actually September 12 that sticks in my mind as a pivotal day in my life and faith. On 9/11 I did what thousands of others probably did. I sat glued to the television,…
Though I have spent over three months in India, all told, my grasp of Hindi doesn’t extend past a few memorized phrases and songs. I have never sat down and really studied the beautiful language for myself. One thing I do know is that Hindi doesn’t have a definite article comparable to the English “the”…
(Adapted from a true story…) Yesterday, my neighbors had a baby. A baby girl. I’ve never seen a more beautiful child. That may not sound so amazing, but this family has been through… well… way too much. They had more than their share of problems. (I’m in awe of the dad, and the way he…
My name is Kaole. I live in a small village in southern Africa. I am the youngest girl in my family. I don’t remember my older brothers. They died before I was born. But my sister was around for a while. She was about 14 when she married and moved away. Death has always been…
(continued from A Child’s Loss: Part 1) My sister died on a Wednesday, I think. Not long after … her husband passed away. He died on a Wednesday, too. Isn’t that odd? Yes, death has always been a part of my life. I decided to leave my sister’s village and go back home to Mama’s….
As I prayed this morning, so saddened by the news of another leader confessing “moral failure,” I remembered a story that renewed my hope. Here’s the story re-told: Once upon a time, a man a young man, a small shepherd, was chosen by God to be king… a son, a friend, a husband, a father, persecuted by…
Ah, finally, a moment to write what I’m living right now — We’ve talked about the feeling of disorientation and ambivalence that strikes hard and fast, sometimes so dizzying we don’t even know what hit us! Today — five thoughts on living in God’s story of grace through these seasons: Grieve the loss. Yes, it is…
I love ministry; I hate the temptations that accompany it. The temptation to believe our work is meaningless. Ugly thoughts intrude at times, even though I’d rather pretend I don’t have them. But from what my coaching clients and others tell me, we all struggle at times with the temptation to believe that what we do somehow doesn’t…
First of all, I don’t know why the new issue of Parenting Magazine seems to show up in my mailbox once a month. I suspect there is a mom out there who has judged me the worst mother in the state of Florida and has taken me on as a mercy ministry. She probably sponsored my subscription hoping the articles will…
Tis the season – graduation invites are dropping in my mailbox like flies on watermelon juice, so I am re-visiting some of my previous thoughts on the season. (This year, our third child, second daughter is graduating from college — and getting married 3 weeks later, and moving, and starting a new job….! So, once…
A reflection on taking our first son to college Indiana University Orientation A hot weekend in roasted granite wandering the ivory tower of Southern Indiana red. Hoosier Red. Red faces with beads of sweat streaming down alongside sideburns still coming in. Red cheeks blazing with melting hot passion inside, waiting to bust out. Waiting to…