My heart rate increased as I felt heat rising in my face. I approached the empty stage with Bible and notes in hand, took a deep breath in an attempt to steady my shaking hands, and looked around the room. Taking in the attentive eyes and listening ears, and with weeks of preparation behind me,…
We bought our first home last month, after decades of transient living in rented housing, both separately and together. I’ll never forget the day we looked at it for the first time. As we walked through its then-empty rooms, footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors, I was imagining all the people we could invite inside…
I don’t know about you, but I love a good list. Lists keep me focused and organized. Lists ensure my scattered brain doesn’t forget anything. Lists provide security. In twelve days from the time of this writing, I’m going on a mission trip to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Our team will be partnering with The Hard…
Tigist invited me into her home in Ethiopia because I was—and still am—her American sister/sponsor. When my heart was stirred toward orphan prevention, my girlfriends joined me, we pooled our money, and I earned the opportunity to be Tigist’s honored guest. The inequities of our lives churned inside me during our visit. Our two birthplaces…
Have you ever known for sure you were right in the center of God’s will? That’s a beautiful gift for a follower of Christ. In 2012 we were in a challenging situation at our church in the Dallas area, where my husband was on staff as the small groups pastor. We’d lived in Denver for…
“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” ~Proverbs 17:22 NIV When my mother arrived at the hospital for my birth, she was accompanied by her mother because my father was miles away finishing seminary. (Please note, seminary.) My grandmother—whom I suspect was none too happy my father was, in her mind, AWOL—was so discombobulated that she…