Have you ever brought a polluted offering to God?
Malls are bustling with Christmas shoppers. Even here on our tropical island in Asia. Everyone seems to have a long “to do” list. My shopping list was short yesterday, but wriggling my way through the crowds made my trip to the mall long and tiring! Whew! A few years ago, I contemplated all that God did to get “ready” for…
I’m sitting on the balcony of a hotel, looking out over the Gulf of Thailand on this Thanksgiving Day! If turkey, American football, and relatives at the table are what make Thanksgiving Thanksgiving, then I’ve made a terrible mistake somewhere along the way. But if God‘s provisions, fellowship, and spiritual brothers and sisters are what make Thanksgiving Thanksgiving, then I’m…
“He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him–the dark rain clouds around him–the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightening.” Psalm 18:11-12 Darkness His covering. Psalm 18:1-12 is poetic and beautiful–I wish someone would paint the scene. I would gaze at a painting of this…
Culture stress Africa-style: and maybe a lesson all of us can learn because no matter where we live, there’s always someone around that has a different culture than us. The squeak of the front gate announced the arrival of Fessehaye. I sighed and pinned another shirt to the clothesline. Why does he think he can just walk into our yard…
Twice a year my parents took me and my siblings to spend a week at the beach in a little town called Pangandaran. We packed our van with all the supplies we would need: food, snacks, towels, swimsuits, medicine for the inevitable minor injuries, games, pillows, and a table fan for Mom (the rest of us just had to figure…
We lived in a small African market town frequented by nomads and a variety of tribes. Long before we knew the language, I felt at home in the house of a tribal family. They readily welcomed me, and I could spend as long as I wanted with them. Sometimes I’d lie on one of their beds and take a nap.…
School is back again and y’all, it changes nothing for me. Which is weird after so many years of the school years and summers dictating our calendar. But I’m watching my friends send their TCKs (third culture kids) to college and it reminds me of a prayer I wrote a few years ago. It’s on this blog already, but I’m…
Discouragement drags on slowly. But what if patience in trials is more than mere survival—what if it’s worship?