I did not know his name but I remembered his face. During my first Weave BIG Story training in Ethiopia, he sat just in front of me on my right hand side. He was always dressed in slacks and a button-up shirt, faithfully taking notes through each and every session. He spoke only enough English…

For the most part, my generation lived in a bubble. We lived, we worked, we went to school, we married and we died, all within our bubble. There was nothing wrong with that; it was just the way it was. To show you how small our bubble was when I was growing up in Missouri,…

We often shelter our children from unknown situations, some because we are good parents who want to keep them safe, and some, because we are also afraid of the unknown. It is human to be afraid of what we do not know. But unfortunately, we act this way around people who are here from other…

I am a huge fan of spontaneous road trips. In fact, I recently took a day trip to Kansas City. I did not make a lot of plans for this trip (that would not be very spontaneous), but shortly into my drive I remembered an incredible art museum in the city. Since one of the…

As parents we pray diligently for our children, at least until they’re born. We then spend the rest of the time praying for ourselves, “Lord, deliver us from this evil.” I think the prayers of today’s parents may go something like this: Dear Lord, I pray that You keep my child away from all evil,…

I invited six-year-old Maria to assist me with a Sunday school lesson. As she came to the front of the room, she pointed to my Bible and asked, “Is my name in there?” Feeling the Holy Spirit’s prompting, I replaced the activity with a much-needed moment of affirmation for all those Maria’s out there. OK,…

Raising a child with a missional outlook can be a difficult task – a task that takes effort. When looking for “how-tos,” let’s not forget to look at the Bible itself.  There we find the account of Timothy, a child who grew up with a definitive focus on missions. Timothy grew up in the town…

Plumbers crack is a real thing. I know, because it was my view for the day as work crews of all varieties came in and out of my home assessing the damage caused by a broken water heater that had flooded the living room. As I scurried around furniture trying to keep out of the…

Our perspective acts just like a camera lens. When you take pictures with the manual focus setting, you have to twist the lens to bring your subject into the clearest focus possible. As you make adjustments, some objects will clarify as others blur and become undefined. If you focus your lens on a single blade…

I lay there under a giant oak tree, whose branches stretched out like a canopy above us. The sound of rustling leaves and the warmth of the sun soothed my soul. Closing my eyes, I let the last hour of my life replay in my mind. Sitting on the wooden porch, blowing bubbles, rocking in…