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 […]
This article is not (repeat—not) a manifesto on the validity and value of boarding schools, though I’ll affirm that blanket statements are a disservice to the discussion. I’ve seen students thrive, their ties to their parents deepened through the boarding experience. I’ve also seen students wither away and grow bitter as they’ve endured life in […]