Our family got into an argument last Christmas Eve. It wasnāt a fight about any kind of significant issue, but we disputed over what movie to watch. Along with checking out the festive lights, a Christmas Eve movie is a tradition, and one that caused quite a bit of tension in the year of 2020….
Category: BLOG
Finding Joy in the Christmas Commotion
I always sense the impending whirlwind about a week before Thanksgiving. Itās my favorite time of year, but it tends to feel frenzied with the Christmas cards, the meal planning, the gift shopping, the end of the year programs, the grades due, and the list goes onā¦and on. Without fail, I enter this season with…
Unity in Diversity
My freshman year of high school I went on a missionās trip to Mexico City. The purpose of our trip was to help build a meeting space for a new church who could not afford to pay for the labor, so our days were filled with making concrete by hand, laying bricks, and preparing meals….
Thanks for Holding
My flight home was cancelled two hours before departure. Longing to be back at home, I called the airline within minutes of receiving the text informing me about the changed flight. āAgent. Agent,ā I repeated, simply wanting to talk with a human ā anyone who could help me get on the next available flight as…
The Incomprehensible
Iāve always had trouble accepting the realities of lifeās mysteries. For example, in Kindergarten I pestered my dad incessantly with this question: why can birds fly, and I canāt? Though I have no recollection of his answers, my guess is he attempted to give some scientific explanation, and when that didnāt work, he likely resorted…
Your Will Be Done
I was texting with a friend recently who was waiting on test results after a scan showed some abnormalities. When I responded, I instinctively texted, āIām praying that the results come back completely clean, if the Lord willsā¦ā I stared at my unsent text and thenā¦delete, delete, delete, delete. Iām praying that the results come…
The Life-Giving and Life-Restoring Reasons To Say “Yes” Or “No”
My husband traveled to Yemen several years ago. The purpose was to encourage a missionary family who was serving Jesus in this challenging place, but while there, he also had the opportunity to experience the nuances of Middle Eastern culture. On one particular day, he was invited to have a traditional lunch with a Yemenis…
Encouragement For Heavy Hearts
My heart has been heavy lately. Not void of joy, not empty of sweet friends or funny moments, but I’ve felt an underlying heaviness most days. My family was recently hit by the COVID virus, and it has taken a while to start feeling physically strong again. The virus took a toll on my husband…
Battling The Beast Of Envy
I suspect I wasnāt the only one scrolling through social media around Christmas time, viewing the myriad of pictures of kids and grandkids and family photos, many of which were sent electronically this year because #2020. Typically, I enjoy seeing the joy that radiates off the faces of friends and family, but I felt a…
Sleep In Heavenly Peace
My favorite moments of the day are the early morning hours, and I especially enjoy this time at Christmas. The house is quiet, the tree lights are on, and the brisk morning air makes sitting by the fireplace just delightful. I welcomed a morning like this a few days ago. Before the sun brought light…