Have you ever had an experience which made you wonder if God was unsafe? Dare I ask, if He was good? I became a voracious reader after our move to Congo. In part, this was because I had little else to do to pass my time. The late 1970s had not seen the invention of VCR or DVD machines (my children can hardly imagine anything so awful as my brother and sister and I having to wait to see … [Read more...] about How God Is Unsafe And Still Good
Made For Another World
Some days I forget...I was made for another world. The reason I don't fit in some places and some circles is because I am a stranger, an alien here.I belong to a kingdom not of this world, invisible, but the only true kingdom there is. This world will never be my home.Homesickness is a good thing.Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: … [Read more...] about Made For Another World
Hand-to-Hand Combat
"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light." Micah 7:8 (NIV) My dad made history come alive for his children. The summer before we left for Congo, he and my mom took us to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I was ten years old, Nicol was eight, and Todd was five. What could have been a very boring day turned out to be … [Read more...] about Hand-to-Hand Combat
Through the Fire
One cold November evening, when I was nine years old, our 73 year-old farmhouse caught fire due to a faulty oil space heater. Weather-beaten and aged, the house was completely engulfed in flames within twenty minutes. My father was away on a ministry trip in California thousands of miles away from our western Michigan home. My mother, sister, brother, and I escaped the flames with the clothes on … [Read more...] about Through the Fire
How To Survive Separation Anxiety The Right Way
I had read about separation anxiety in my parenting books, but how bad could it really be? My son was five months old and, frankly, I needed a full night's sleep! I was foolish enough then to think I was some super mom doing everything right because my son always seemed content. We were inseparable his first five months, mostly because I was scared to death something would happen to him if I … [Read more...] about How To Survive Separation Anxiety The Right Way
Unfathomable
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him..." Job 13:15 (KJV) Have you ever tried to figure out what God is doing in your life? Funny how I seldom--okay, never--question Him when great things are going on. But when life gets difficult, I can start playing the maddening game of trying to understand what He might be doing. At first, I try to be calm and patient. I try … [Read more...] about Unfathomable