a settled place

Our journey south was an adventure and challenge for us all... weaving our way through various methods of transportation, new social interactions, and several cities. And yet wherever we found ourselves... in minivans, trains, buses, shuttles, escalators, airplanes, and "big big gray vans", we felt God going before us and that was so very humbling. Thank you so much to any and all of you who were praying. We found ourselves without a vehicle to take to Chicago on January 4 when our auto mechanic informed us that our van's tires were not fit to make the drive. We headed north nonetheless in a borrowed van, thanks to Jim & Marlene, placed it securely in O'Hare's Lot G, and flew to Atlanta that evening. It was a short night, and the kids shared a double bed which was an all-around new experience, and overall not a very peaceful night, but we sort of slept. The next morning we flew to Guadalajara and arrived in Ixtlan in time for church. Once there, we found o...

In a week filled with protests, legal actions, and words about being feminine, I realize that I'm very blessed... I do feel loved, protected, represented, and fulfilled as a woman, wife, and mother, because of God and the amazing husband that I have. I  am privileged. I'm still learning what to do with that information, but I  am. Anyway, in light of all that, it struck me as I stood at the stove this evening how particularly fulfilled I feel when a finished meal is on the table. I'm sure there's many of you out there who can relate. I actually love being in the kitchen, and food is a favorite thing of ours. :) Its an accomplished feeling to take raw ingredients and turn them into something yummy. My place is at home right now and I wouldn't have it any other way. Last night we had leftovers (so glamorous, I know) and I made myself a cobb salad - kind of a McAllister's copycat recipe... I really enjoyed it so I'm going to throw it up here, but keep in m...

" And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem."  (Luke 13:22) Around the turn of the new year, this verse came up in my Bible reading and I've been pondering a lot on the last phrase - "journeying toward Jerusalem". Jerusalem is a place of redemption ... where the old becomes new again. It is a place where the past is forgiven, where we are reconciled to one another and to Christ, and where we find love . As I scroll through social media these days, the obvious need for redemption of the human race is so very overwhelming. As Christians, we are sent forth in the midst of this, and called to be  wise as serpents and harmless as doves.   (Matthew 10). The responsibility weighs so heavily on me today, as I think about my own journey to Jerusalem, and how I, too, am one of them - those who are protesting, those who are angry, those who nailed Christ to the cross... I, too, am one of them. I, too, have been sometimes a...

As I was packing our bags last week, I grabbed this little bucket of sidewalk chalk on a whim. You can see... it only cost a $1, last summer sometime in the Target dollar bins I think. That bucket is now nearly empty, and this picture is the best I can do to tell the story of how God has gone before us and orchestrated this week, a time to come alongside our brothers and sisters here in Ixtlan... to remind them that they are loved, and that there is a God who cares deeply about each of them and their individual stories, hurts, challenges, and joys. I've come this week feeling very weak, very unworthy, and very incapable of being a source of encouragement to anyone. It's been so humbling to watch how God did not need me to be strong, or worthy, or capable - rather, He just needed me to be available and He has done all the work. When I threw that bucket of colorful chalk into the bag, I had no idea that He would use it to help my children build cross-cultural, cross-language ...

I will confess that sometimes I sit down to write after I've already sorted through something... conclusions drawn, things figured out. And that can give the impression that I have things together. I don't. I feel a push tonight, from the Spirit I think, to write a little bit here, maybe if for no other reason than to acknowledge that I'm down and Satan would like to keep me there. As we've found ourselves in the middle of holiday plans and somewhat of a "Christmas break" schedule, our routine has become chaotic at best and many things have gone unattended to - leaving much space for behavior problems, potty-training regression, and me feeling a little hopeless and a lot worn out. I have to consciously and intentionally remind myself that the only thing keeping me from looking upward and outward again is Satan, who delights in my failures and uses them to push me further away from God. And of course there's pride, if I can't acknowledge that ther...

Lots of life happening around here right now - good things, most of them - just a lot of them! :) We've been slacking a bit lately in daily routine, mostly because no matter how we structure our days it seems like there's still not quite time to get everything done before Christmas. But then Addie has been around this week and I'm feeling SO much more on top of things. We kicked off the holiday season with Thanksgiving and the Leman Christmas. These pictures do an excellent job of representing what that day was like for each of our kiddos. Ivory - creative, social, and enthusiastic, LOVED participating in the Charlotte's Web skit and decorating a bag for a Christmas meal, among many other things. Titus, on the other hand, shrinks away from crowds and I found him late afternoon on the floor under a chair contentedly eating his snack... We had some good mother-son bonding time when I took him out on the trail one frigid morning to be a little model for me. He did gr...