Please do not take offense…

          If I ever go to introduce you, and a blank look turned terrified crosses my face—you’ve guessed it, I’ve forgotten your name. Please, do not take offense!           I know. I’m sure there’s some written-in-stone requirement for former missionaries and current pastors’ wives to hold an outstanding grasp on the names of each and [...]

Read Full Post »

Tethered to Technology

When a server goes down and your business requires the internet, you feel it. A friend of mine just felt it. Acutely. Several days of crisis management—with a bit of anger management—were the results of a server gone down. It spawned a lot of comments on our dependence on technology. I found I agreed with [...]

Read Full Post »

Where Skunks Should Not Tread!

Part of our missionary training was living for six weeks in a “home” we made of poles covered with dark and clear plastic. Kitchen cupboards, benches, and beds were all made of poles and twine. Think glorified camping. For the most part, since we didn’t yet have children, this was actually a fun and uneventful [...]

Read Full Post »

A New Liver for Dale!

Remember Dale Shaylor, our former missionary co-worker in need of a new liver, in need of a miracle? We asked prayer for him when he was informed that a liver transplant was the only cure. We asked prayer for him as he faced the daunting task of raising an impossible amount of money before they [...]

Read Full Post »

Nocturnal Critters

The other night there was this strange noise in the bedroom, an irritating scratching noise that was out of place. Lifting my head from the pillow, I glanced around the room. Had our Jack Russell Terrier, Mocha, slipped into the room when we had come to bed? I thought not. Listening, I realized it was [...]

Read Full Post »

No Hope

NOTE: The story below is a fictionalized combination of events that we saw happen while working with the Maquiritare people, who also called themselves the Ye’cuana.   ~~~~~~~~~~  Juan felt the sweat dripping down his brow into his eyes. The hot sun beat down on his bronzed body as he slashed rhythmically away at the [...]

Read Full Post »

The Toy Box

The twins weren’t speaking yet. Gibberish would be the best way to describe the sounds that came out of their mouths—even if they were convinced they really were communicating! Usually that was not a problem…until this one day. I was in the kitchen making dinner and had sent our toddler twins back to their bedroom [...]

Read Full Post »

Unwelcome Intruders

  It was the voices suddenly lowered to a near whisper that caught my attention. In a house of rambunctious boys, whispers meant I needed to really pay attention. Walking out of the office into the living room I was greeted by the sight portrayed in the picture above. The unwelcome visitor had found its [...]

Read Full Post »

The Contrast

On some days as I’m walking out the door of my nice home that contains all the modern conveniences that we Americans take for granted … on some days I feel a disconnect. The contrast between my current life and my former life is so great that the one at times seems to begin to [...]

Read Full Post »

When Pruning Must Wait

There are times in life when we’re busy. Then there are times in life when we are unrealistically busy. I’m at the ‘unrealistically busy’ juncture. In our Ladies’ Bible Study we were studying having a purpose statement for our lives so that we don’t, by default, live by the greatest screaming demand in our life [...]

Read Full Post »