Yesterday in Niger: five people died in protests following Charlie Hebdo’s most recent cover featuring Mohammed. More unrest is expected today. ~~~~~~ Let me be very clear at the beginning of an article that will likely be misinterpreted by the grieving and incensed: I am in no way adding a “but” to the notion of […]
Several weeks ago, I published an open letter to missionary parents. The huge response to that article indicated a hunger for information about rearing children in ministry, whether it’s local or overseas. So here’s a little more! This is a companion piece to the “Ten Most Valuable Mindsets for MKs” I published nearly a year […]
Dear missionary parents, It’s after a particularly sobering Skype conversation with an adult MK I’ll call Laura that I sit down to write to you (with her permission). She’s twenty-six. She has a great job in the medical field. She’s in a stable relationship. She gives back by working at a local soup kitchen. She’s […]
I survived two cancers in 2008. Last week, tests revealed a potential recurrence. [For those who have waited] The doctor uttered “lump” and “lymph.” Breast and neck. Sobering alone. Terrifying together. I felt my future flutter shut. A mountain of mortality smudged shadows across my mind. Cancer triggers hurled their venom: articles, obituaries, science, films […]
[This is a two-part post. Scroll down for “I Stand with Brittany Maynard,” which you’ll find highlighted in red, and please take the time to view the embedded video.] Christians Flog the Dying Unless you’ve been on a media fast for the past several weeks, you’ve heard of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year old woman […]
I was twenty-seven before someone told me I was a victim. I was twenty-seven before I was able to face the turmoil created by too many unspoken traumas. Twenty-seven before I realized the power I was giving my perpetrators by keeping their crime silent. Twenty-seven before I spoke it. Just spoke it. The liberation of […]
Of all the topics I cover in my seminars, the subject of relationships seems to elicit the most interest and response. At our core, I think we MKs and TCKs know that we don’t function like others in this area, yet we can’t quite put our finger on what it is that makes us so […]
You know what I’d like to see between the videos of ice-bucket challenges—as useful as they’ve been in bringing attention to ALS? In the midst of the uproars and scandals saturating our screens and airwaves, I want to be reminded of the goodness of mankind. It’s there. It’s alive. Those buckets are a start, but… […]
On June 23, Reverend Charles Moore parked his car near a strip mall in Grand Saline, Texas. He knelt. He poured gasoline over his head. He set himself on fire. The 79-year old pastor and activist died later that day, certain that his self-sacrifice would bring attention to the causes God had put on his […]
I thought the Facebook status about my solitary July 4th celebration was innocuous—a pictorial tribute to a close-to-perfect day: my favorite food, a fluff movie (Transformers: loved it!), a long walk by a scenic lake and enough patriotism to color it all with subtle shades of red, white and blue. A caring friend sent me […]