Recently we had a photo session with one of our friends here in Nicaragua, Bethany Bracht. It was so much fun to take some pregnancy shots out in our backyard. Thanks, Bethany, for these beautiful pictures!
Luke and I had the opportunity to attend a DAR (Debriefing and Renewal) seminar the last week of July. It was held at Mission Training International in Palmer Lake, Colorado. This program was for any missionaries who had spent time on the mission field and were coming back to the US for a time. Topics included: stress, burn-out, soul care, healthy goodbyes and hellos, etc. We took this week as a wonderful gift from God. We were very thankful that an anonymous donation came in to pay for more than half the cost of the conference! And an added blessing was that our kids could spend the week with their Grammie and GrandDad, leaving us with kid-free meal times and evenings - a great chance to hang out with others or process what we'd been learning each day. Though the program is pricey, we found it very helpful and would highly recommend it to any missionary who has spent any amount of time on the mission field. It is so well worth it. He...
In preparation for taking communion last Sunday, one of the elders of our church posed this question: "Are the best things in life earned or received ?" Immediately I thought of the best things in my life: my husband, my kids, God's overwhelming love, and Christ's salvation. And then I thought: There is no way I earned (or deserve) my husband's love. He loves me for who I am, flaws and all. He loves me no matter what kind of day I've had, the way I have treated him, or if I have failed in some area. And then my kids. They are pure gifts! Yes, they are definitely received....received with much gratitude, awe, and trepidation at the weight of the responsibility to raise them. And finally, God's amazing love and grace displayed through His gift of His Son. Not earned, but received. Because a gift, a true gift, is received, not earned. I've lived much of my life trying to attain some degree of perfection or acceptance from o...
One of the tiniest things I brought with me when we moved back to Nicaragua in June was this little nut. If you have done any kind of move overseas (and especially with kids!) you know that little things like this rarely get packed. Especially as you wade through all of your "decision-requiring stuff": clothes, shoes, books, DVD's, papers, kitchen stuff, that random broken thing, that paper clip or magnet, that thing you forgot you had and maybe you would use it now that you found it, and on and on. It takes months of sorting, selling, giving away, packing, etc to finally be prepared with those bags that are only supposed to be 40 lbs. Granted, this nut weighs nothing but how did it make the cut? Better yet, how did I not lose track of it in an international move? I'm not exactly sure how to answer the above questions but this I do know: though little in size, this nut reminds ...
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