personal reflection
Suffering through sickness
I think everyone can agree – it’s no fun being sick. I was sick for two weeks in February with a high fever and body aches due to a bacterial sinus infection. I felt miserable physically and what was even more frustrating for me – I had to cancel a few ministry activities. First, I … Continue reading
Failing on the first Sunday of Advent
I’ve been anticipating with much excitement the arrival of Advent and Christmas! I love sitting by the Christmas tree after the boys are in bed, reading, writing or just being still and thinking. I’ve been excited to start using the new Advent materials I found for my own personal devotional time as well as for … Continue reading
I’m the new guy…
Upon starting my first job out of college, one of my older brothers gave me a piece of advice: “Don’t wear out the ‘I’m the new guy’ line”. I understood his point: a well-timed and clever use of “What do I know? I’m the new guy.”-type joke can, in fact, get a laugh or ease … Continue reading
Generations of blessing
As I’ve been facilitating the violence prevention class with a group of women from the Vicente Guerrero Covenant Church, I’ve heard several sad stories of generations of violence among families. In the course, we talk about the cycle of violence and how hard it is to break that cycle, that ultimately Christ alone is the … Continue reading
Reflecting on Christian discipleship
I’ve really enjoyed reading Eugene Peterson’s “A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society” and meditating on the Psalms. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. Peterson looks at the old Hebrew Songbook, the Songs of Ascent in Psalms 120-134, which he describes as our best background for … Continue reading
“Every detail in our lives of love for God..”
“The Christian life is going to God. In going to God Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water, read the same newspapers, are citizens under the same government, fear the same dangers, are subject to the same pressures, get the same distresses, are buried … Continue reading
Do not provoke your children to anger…
“Fathers (and Mothers), do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord”. Ephesians 6:4 (NLT) So, as we mentioned in our last update these last few weeks have involved a lot of travel for me and/or Nils. … Continue reading
Prayer for Monterrey
We are here in Oaxaca now, but our hearts are still with our friends in Monterrey, especially as we heard the news that on Thursday a casino was attacked, most likely by drug trafficking groups, and was set on fire. More than 50 people were killed, most of them women. Our hearts break as we … Continue reading
Full Circle
I love going for a walk in our neighborhood park, just a couple blocks from our house (at least until August 1st) and looking up at the majestic La Silla mountain on the east side (the header picture on our blog) and the other set of “M” shaped mountains on the west side. Thankfully, things … Continue reading
