I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11) Before you roll your eyes at someone taking this verse out of context for the millionth time, I’m aware of the context. The peopleContinue reading “A Hopeful Conversation”
Category Archives: Africa stories
Eternally Grateful
A note: This post is a little parentheses in the ‘village chronicles’. During that first year of ministry and of getting our team established in the village in Mali, my health began to visibly deteriorate. In September 2013 I was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer. I was in the last stage and it seemedContinue reading “Eternally Grateful”
Things I never saw myself doing…
I’ve heard lots of advice over the years about the importance of making a 5-year or even 10-year plan for one’s life: ask yourself where you want to be in 5 years, envision it, and let that vision guide your goal-setting and decisions. I think it’s a great thing, even though I’ve never actually doneContinue reading “Things I never saw myself doing…”
The Human Element
With this short piece, I’m launching a series of stories about life in a village in Mali, where I worked off an on for a period of about 8 years, establishing a small evangelism/ church planting team that continues to share Jesus with the local population. My hope is that you will be inspired andContinue reading “The Human Element”
Dust and Glory
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fearContinue reading “Dust and Glory”
Where In The World ?
“How does it feel, how does it feel? To be without a home, like a complete unknown. Like a rolling stone. (Bob Dylan, “Like a Rolling Stone”) “But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) It’s the First Question, posed to the First Man. It’s a question with a thousandContinue reading “Where In The World ?”
Ordinary Lives
The past two and a half years have been both rich in blessings and full of difficulty. The difficulty was not simply because I went through 4 months of chemotherapy for multiple myeloma (an ‘incurable’ blood cancer), then discovered I had a cancerous tumor in my colon that required surgery, and once I recovered fromContinue reading “Ordinary Lives”
Night Lessons from Trees & Their Shadows
“The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to theContinue reading “Night Lessons from Trees & Their Shadows”
Pain & Presence: A Christmas Meditation
Wrapped up in this miracle we celebrate at Christmas – the miracle of incarnation, the miracle of “God-with-us” – is the reality and legitimacy of suffering. It is part of the human experience to which a transcendent God made himself vulnerable. From the beginning of this story in which God moves to intimately involve himselfContinue reading “Pain & Presence: A Christmas Meditation”
Know This Love 