Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Psalm 37:3 (NASV) This is an excerpt taken from my first devotional book Villa in the Hilla: I’ve been thinking about the words “cultivate faithfulness” from Psalm thirty-seven. The psalmist encourages me to “Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” Earlier this week I replanted cuttings…
Inching the car out of the jam-packed parking lot, I headed home amid heavy Friday traffic. I didn’t know a love thief was headed my way. Wanting to be a blessing, I had just spent three hours sitting in a hospital with a sick man and his family. But, as often happens when we open up our clenched hands and…
We sit in a circle on the floor of Nina’s house. I hope that listening to the women converse in this foreign language will help me learn it. Learning a foreign language is not easy. Sometimes things spiral out of control. Nina’s two-year-old grand-baby, Ali, is running back and forth in the house, charming me with his adorable smile. Maybe…
Time for recess! Why? Because the snack lady is here. She calls in the front door. “Cemil cemilan!” (pronounced chu-meel chu-meel-ahn) That’s Javanese for, “Snacks!” The snack lady walks the streets, balancing a large round double-decker basket on her head. Inside its woven walls lie treasures in the form of a variety of colorful snacks. Pink spongy cupcakes, brown sugary…
I can hardly believe I’m going to college. COLLEGE! And with my best friend too. Life feels so perfect right now. My name is Kerrie May and my best friend in the whole world is Mary Kay. No, not the make-up variety. In fact, I don’t think the person who chose her name even knew that “Mary Kay” was a…
The scent of cloves fills the air and, combined with the cool dusk breeze, it serves as a “caffeine high” that makes the sleek horses giddy. The black mare rears up on her hind legs and the brown one trots around, her hooves clop loudly against the stone cliff on the mountain. The black one neighs and then the two…
I don’t have training wheels on my bike anymore. Freedom! We’re cycling on the side of the road in our neighborhood. An occasional car rambles by, but mostly pedestrians, other bicycles, horse carts, and becaks. It’s not too busy though, or Mom wouldn’t have let me go. Today is special because Grandpa is riding with us. He and my big…
“Practice hospitality” Romans 12:13 NIV “Come to my house!” When I invite you to my home, I am inviting you to see a part of me. The house decor is my decor and each piece has a story. For me, most of the pictures on the walls and the curios on the bookshelf come from a variety of countries because…
I haven’t been allowed to leave the house in three weeks. But today Grandmother puts fifty cents in my hand and tells me to go buy the little green peppers that she puts in the noodles. I run out of the house before she can change her mind. I look at the shoes in the doorway then check that no…
Several years ago I sat in a room full of women. It could have been a room in Halimah and Rania’s Khartoum home! I listened to them chatter, laugh, eat, relax, and play with the children. One mom broke off from the group to perform her Muslim prayers while her child pulled on her scarf and tried to get her to…
