I’m sure you’ve experienced it too. That moment when you meet someone in a mono-cultural setting—say an office party—and she says, “This is the most fun I’ve had in my life” with that intonation that really says, “This party is worse than having my fingernails ripped off.” You absorb the double-entendre and stare squinty-brained at […]

There was a time not long ago When Mother’s Day felt like a wound Pulled open and exposed on that one Sunday every year When childless lives felt second-rate Shoved to the side to make more room for Those with fulfilled womanhood I tried to blame society Men or myself —or Christianity— For the affront […]

  [If you’re receiving this blog via email, you may need to click THIS LINK to see the embedded video.] Every year, in this season of “endings,” my inbox overflows with correspondence from missionaries and MKs about the imminent changes they’re facing. Their messages range from “mild” to “frantic” on the Freak Out Scale—a spectrum […]

As someone who has spent a lifetime in the world of Christian ministry, I understand some of the criticism regarding The Shack’s theology. It’s that same lifetime in Christian ministry that prompted me to make this short video to offer a different perspective on the novel — not because it stands as a complete iteration of the […]

I wasn’t prepared for the email I received from a friend yesterday, after I’d written about a minor health setback in my recovery from the surgery and cancer diagnosis that turned my world upside down. The email said, “I am not your counselor, your mentor or your doctor — but perhaps God is trying to slow you […]

[Prefer viewing to reading? Scroll to bottom for a brief video supplement to this post.] I am a single woman. It’s not an affliction and it certainly isn’t a curse. It’s a relational status, one that seems to cause a bit of discomfort among married peers who wonder whether condolences or congratulations are in order. It’s hard […]

This is the first time I’ve shared someone else’s content on this blog, but it’s good and useful enough to warrant an exception. As faithful as many churches and supporters are with praying for their missionaries, MKs often get lumped in with the parents, yet the way these children and teens experience living “between worlds” […]

  [UPDATE: As a result of the mastectomy on December 6th, three previously undetected, active tumors were found in both breasts. A year later, I posted He Faithful Will Remain, my thoughts as I looked back on twelve months of unexpected fear and miraculous peace.]     Mastectomy. I’ve been practicing saying the word out […]

[This article also exists in podcast form. You can listen to it on Pondering Purple, HERE.] Someone asked me, recently, why there is such an emphasis on grief and loss in my speaking on MK topics. Muki, one of the participants in a reentry retreat this summer, said it best: “I feel like grief has […]

  Let me be blunt. I am so tired of hearing the following statements spoken to hurting, broken and disillusioned people. Everything happens for a reason. God will work it out for good. God doesn’t give you more than you can handle. He gives and takes away. He has a purpose for your pain. More […]