I have good news, but I’m reluctant to share. I’m reluctant because I don’t want anyone to understand the takeaway to be that the Lord has finally been faithful. He’s been— in every moment, through all the sadness and disappointment and every detour—unceasingly faithful. This news, though good, is not the promised land. I’m wary … Continue reading Scavenging for Yes
The date was marked in my Google calendar. A friend had sent the invite. I was supposed to get married this weekend. If you’re wondering where your invitation is, well, it’s not happening. In 2008, I moved back to the US from China. My goals were grad school and going back abroad. I had this … Continue reading I Was Supposed to Get Married This Weekend
This morning I’ll be speaking with you briefly about the framework the Bible provides for how to love the immigrant. I also want to let you know up front what this talk isn’t about: immigration policy. I’m not even really going to talk about how we as Americans should think about immigrants, but about how … Continue reading No Longer Strangers: A Biblical Framework for Loving our Immigrant Neighbor Well
Having just extolled the benefits of being mentored, you’d think I would consider anything shy of one-on-one, regular, intentional, growth-centered discipleship a sham. But, as is often the case, we tend to cut ourselves more slack than we do others. Perhaps I need to be the mentor I wish to see in the world. Or … Continue reading Spot, Sprinkler, Stealth: On Discipling Others
“WHO WANTS A MENTOR FOR THE NEW YEAR” read the title of a post on a museum blogger’s website that I followed. Intrigued that someone would just put themselves out there to mentor someone coming up in the field, I clicked on the link. Linda had recognized the value of someone further along in their … Continue reading Who Wants a Mentor?
At my age, I'd already grown used to not having a child. Never would I have guessed that an invitation I extended one day to a man of God to have dinner with my husband and me would change that. My husband and I had moved on. We had been sad of course, but focused … Continue reading The Shunammite Woman (2 Kings 4 & 8)
Probably no one is more surprised about my recent spike in physical activity than I am or maybe perhaps my trainer since he was privy to my falling out on the floor every time he asked me to lift a weight in our early days training together. It all started with an email. Last September, … Continue reading Fit, Fitter, Fittest: Fence-sitter No More
I never ran. The PE department learned the hard way that running wasn’t for me. I would, without fail, end up in the nurse’s office laid out taking my inhaler, sitting on the floor with my head between my knees drinking coke, or wheezing into my school nebulizer (as distinct from the one I had … Continue reading The Longest Mile
In many ways, the past year and a half has felt like being an expat in a developing country. Friends and families’ lives move on at a regular pace—vacations, marriages, pregnancies, new jobs, new relationships—while yours seems to stand still by comparison. You’re being changed by the new and oftentimes uncomfortable realities of living … Continue reading Poor in Spirit in the Land of Plenty
I had a whole city block wondering who died as I wailed uncontrollably unable to find any privacy. After failing to stem my tears at my desk this afternoon, I ran outside to call my mom. At first when she asked what was wrong I offered only an earful of sobs, sniffs, and barely-caught breaths. … Continue reading He Can Also Give Us Bread
