I met Julia in the Dallas airport. I was seated in a crowded Chili’s, trying to time the number of bites it would take me to finish my burger with the minutes remaining before the boarding call. She was one of those skilled waitresses who managed to be personable while harried. She asked me what […]
I get it. Fifty Shades of Grey is a quasi-pornographic movie. I’ve read the links saturating my feed, and I agree that the movie glamorizes and normalizes demeaning/dangerous activity, perpetuates stereotypes and demolishes too many moral and behavioral standards to list here. I support those who stand against it. Without diluting any of the […]
The Secretary of State, on that Friday in March 2009, did what many TCKs do on a regular basis when transplanting from one culture to another. I call it UCI: Unintentional Cultural Irrelevance. All the details were right…for an American audience: Hillary Clinton’s light tone of voice, her engaging smile, her self-deprecation and the orange-and-yellow […]
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 […]