2020

This month I had the opportunity to share a Sunday morning message with Dover Friends Church in Wilmington, Ohio. Actually they had invited me to share in January, but lucky for all of us we were snowed in that weekend and church was cancelled. I say *lucky* not because we got to stay home but because my message wasn't ready yet. It needed to--as my chef husband would say--simmer and season a bit more before it was truly ready to be consumed. The topic of my message was "rejection". Randy and I were blindsided by rejection during the last week of December, so it was very fresh on my heart in January. Too fresh. Too painful. If church hadn't been cancelled that Sunday I would have spoken specifically about the hurts we had experienced. The lies. The betrayals. And I would have shared this advice from Jesus: "Whatever village or town you enter, search for a godly man who will let you into his home until you leave for the next town. Once you enter a house, ...

Our first adventure in Nebraska was to the Museum of the Fur Trade  in Chadron. The museum didn't look like much from the outside, but the artificats were incredible, spanning from furs to seeds to guns. Even their website is worth a visit! So well known and well researched is this place that they were called upon during the making of the movie Revenant (featuring Leonardo Dicaprio) to autheniticate every little detail. We ventured west from there (because why would we go east toward our final destination!) to another museum, but it was so hot that all we really wanted was an ice cold slushie. We stopped at the "Dairy Sweet" and had the best slushie of my life. You know how you usually run out of juice about halfway through? This one was blue raspberry all the way to the last slurp! AND the "barista" (what do you call someone who makes slushies???) convinced Van and me to add nerds to our drinks. Genius! So, so good. While we waited for our drink perfectio...

I'm so excited that my brother and sister-in-law, Roy & Suzanne, are heading to Ecuador in April! I spent an incredible 10 days in Ecuador when I was in college and absolutely fell in love with the people, the scenery, standing on the equator and strolling through the neighborhood markets. I know they will have an even more rewarding experience, because they are getting to meet Emilia, the child they sponsor through Compassion International. Randy and I spent time in Oregon with Roy & Sue right before we moved to Mexico. During that time they loaned me their copy of "Too Small To Ignore," by Wess Strafford, founder of Compassion International. It wasn't the easiest book to read, because Strafford went through many challenges during his boyhood in Africa that were painful to recount, but it was an honest telling that showed why he felt such a conviction to start this organization. Compassion International has been endorsed by many organizations and...

I'm giving $40 to 40 different ministries for the 40 days of Lent. Today is only day 5 and I'm already worn out! There is so much need in the world... and so many individuals and organizations doing so much good... it's exhausting! But Galatians 6:9 says: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Another version says, "at just the right time we will reap a harvest." And yet another says, "you will be rewarded when the time is right." I don't know what God is thinking with this 40-40-40 adventure he has me on, but I do know that he is the mastermind behind it, therefore only good can come out of it. As long as I don't give up! As I fight against weariness, and consider that today is President's Day, I naturally think about how exhausting it must be to work in Washington. To constantly be under a microscope. To have the weight of the entire nation on your shoulders....

This past Saturday we had visitors, who brought a truck-load of gifts for the children. The kids absolutely loved it. We all get a little bogged down by visitors and gifts at Christmas-time, when it’s nearly a daily occurrence. But visitors and presents in September are a special treat! The only problem is: where are we going to put all these new toys? On Saturdays, I’m in charge of devotions for the kids. Knowing that we needed to do something with all these new items, but not wanting to be solely responsible for deciding what stays and what goes, I had them read Exodus 18:13-27 . In Exodus 18, Moses is serving as judge over all the people. From sun-up to sun-down, he is listening to their complaints and ruling according to what he thinks is God’s will. His father-in-law, Jethro, tells him that this is no good. He’ll burn out for sure. Who wouldn’t, listening to people complain all the time? Jethro says, “The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.” He ...