perfected
guest writing over at (in)courage today: www.incourage.me/2013/03/perfected.html
the pursuit of home
So I'm a little late for Lisa-Jo Baker's Five Minute Friday fun, but liked last week's topic, so decided to write anyway. Rules: Write for five minutes flat on the prescribed topic, no edits. Here goes: Skimming the introduction to my daughter’s requested library book, Anne of Green Gables, my vision locked on the final three words describing the main character’s life: … pursuit of home. Is that what this is? This thing called life? Are we all ants scurrying around, up and down grocery aisles, in and out of the office, into the car, out of the car, in the pursuit of home? It’s a topic...
holy holes
a handful of people have asked me what it has been like in these past few weeks, having spent ten-and-a-half years in a foreign country and returning back to my hometown, to the place where i buried my mother seventeen months ago. what have i learned in this period of transition? i have learned that ann voskamp was spot on when she wrote in her book, 'one thousand gifts,' of the retina of her soul developing macular holes of blackness. she writes, 'losses do that. one life-loss can infect the whole of a life. like a rash that wears through our days, our sight becomes peppered with...
reflections on a move
a few days into our transition from Cape Town to Western Michigan in January, here are a few observations that have come to the surface as oddities and un-familiarities we never knew in sunny SA last week we were wearing shorts and flip flops, eating pap, boerewors and chakalaka now, we find ourselves in a land where kids know what snow pants are frostbite is familiar and car batteries freeze a land with plugs in the bathroom and heat emanating from indoor vents while icicles hang stoically from the roof's edge tortilla chips and salsa squirt, dr. pepper, root beer reese's peanut butter...
the story behind the wheelchair ramp
On Christmas day at our church, I had the privilege of seeing a brand new wheelchair ramp get used for the first time, as my mom's dear friend and a beloved member of our congregation was wheeled into the building. For the past few years, this woman has been carried up the front stairs of our church almost every Sunday. But not anymore. "Why is this significant?" you may ask. Well, here is the story behind the wheelchair ramp. Before my mom passed away in the U.S. in 2011, she specified that any memorial gifts made in her name should be divided equally between her home church and Holy...
radiant magazine
For those who read this who don't see my Facebook feed, this is to let you know that the new issue of Radiant Magazine is now available! To view the whole mag, click here. I had the privilege of contributing in three ways this issue: The Adoption Conversation Living in Fear Budgeting Advice Enjoy!...
compared to her – an interview with author sophie de witt
In her new book, Compared to Her: How to experience true contentment, Sophie DeWitt describes what she has labeled CCS – Compulsive Comparison Syndrome. Perhaps the title alone strikes a chord with you. Within the pages of her book, Sophie helpfully points out how most of us as women struggle either with a ‘looking up comparison’ or a ‘looking down’ version of the same sin. She explains the symptoms, effects, causes and treatment to overcome a life of compulsive comparison and move to experience true contentment in Christ. In my opinion, this book hits the nail on the head. It cuts...
shelter in the storm
We were on our way from Cape Town to Johannesburg, a sixteen-hour drive. As we crossed the border into a new province upcountry, my husband rolled down the window and took in a deep breath. “Ah, can you smell it?” he exhaled with deep satisfaction. “The air is different here. And it’s going to rain – I can tell.” Sure enough, we soon saw dark clouds moving in our direction. We pulled into a rest stop to satiate our hunger, and after looking at the fast food menu, I lifted my head and caught a glimpse through the wall of windows into the parking lot. The weather was changing, and...
digging through dates
We stood side by side, shoulders hunched over the same bowl. We were making date bars, a recipe familiar to both my six-year-old daughter and me. But this time was different. This time, unbeknownst to me, the packet of dates that I had already melted into the butter and sugar were of the pitted variety, unlike all of the others I had ever bought before. Stingy as I am, I was determined not to waste my ingredients. So my poor daughter and I spent more than thirty minutes huddled together over the pot, digging through a sticky mess of syrupy goo, on a mission to remove all of the...
christmas in heaven
I blogged last year about this poem that a friend's mom sent me. It definitely gave me a fresh perspective on what has been and is likely to be an emotional season. For those who have lost loved ones who were believers, this is for you. Warning: The words below have potential to cause certain tear ducts to become slightly overactive. Christmas in Heaven I see the countless Christmas trees around the world below, With tiny lights, like heaven's stars, reflecting on the snow. The sight is so spectacular, please wipe away that tear, For I am spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year....
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