Today, it is Thanksgiving here in West Africa. It is a national holiday usually celebrated by going to church for a time of thanksgiving. Maybe later the family will gather for a meal together but nothing like we do in America. The focus is on being thankful. So I thought I would take a minute to list a few things that I am thankful […]
Do you ever feel like you have seasons where the waves are hitting you up against the rocks? You feel beat up and washed out. Life is hard. It could be a difficult relationship, a frustrating job, a high-security environment, or even an illness that affects you or someone you love. I both love and hate how the Bible has something to say about those […]
This past week I read you can tell a lot about a person by the books on his or her bookshelf. In my case, it would be the books on my kindle. What would you find? First of all, you would notice the Christian Living section but probably not realize that many still have not been opened. Then you might gravitate to […]
As I enter my fifties, I am hoping this decade will be different. At first I thought I wanted to be fearless. Maybe it was all the super hero movies this past year like Wonder Woman or Tomb Raider. Or maybe it was the awesome women on my team who have battled in dark and hard places and who are as tough […]
Today I turn 50 years old. Ten years ago today, my family and I did our first presentations as we raised money to move overseas. Nine months later, we were on a plane heading to Central Asia This past decade we have lived in four different countries, learned a new language, made deep friendships, had our hearts broken, and grew closer as a family. In the midst […]
At the beginning of the summer, I was in a reading rut. I was restless and nothing grabbed my attention. As the summer went on, these titles caught my eye and made their way onto my kindle as I traveled through the midwest and finally back to West Africa. The books ranged from devotional to fantasy to chick lit to memoir. Here are the […]
(Part of an art piece done by Big D’s AP Studio Art Class) Summer has officially ended. W and Big D are both at their respective colleges. My honey came back from the states right as I was finishing my second week of school here in West Africa. The summer for us began with Big D’s graduation in Germany. Then Big D and I […]
What do you do on a morning when the electricity is off. For me, it as a great excuse to sit with some iced coffee and read before we head to the airport to go see our son graduate from boarding school. But first, I thought I would write about some of the books I read/listened to this month. 1. Marriage: […]
This is a repost from a few years ago when we lived in Central Asia. As our nights and some days are rainy since we are not in rainy season, I thought it would be fun to post this again. Rain is a beautiful thing. It gives water for life but also brightens up the world around us. It makes rainbows possible and […]
Dear Younger Self, Remember how as a kid, you loved going around singing Sunday school songs at the top of your lungs with “Jesus Loves Me” being your favorite? Did you believe it then that Jesus loved you? When did you stop believing it? When did you let your insecurities and what others thought start dictating your actions? Living loved […]