If you cannot answer that question, it’s time to get out there! Find godly people and be open to being vulnerable, and begin living in the community. Ask God for direction if you are lost on where to turn. If you are able to answer this question, praise God! Thank him for the wonderful people in your life and then tell them you are thankful for them, too.
Read MoreWe had just arrived in Chennai, India after hours of travel and transit. I looked around and, in the hustle, and bustle of the airport, I stopped for a moment adjusted my mask, and thanked God that we would soon be meeting our near and dear ones. It was almost lunchtime, so on the way home, I called my father. He sounded so happy to know that we had landed safely and were in Chennai (finally). ! I knew it was his nap time now so I quickly told Appa that I would come to meet him at 3 pm when he woke up.
Read MoreOur enemy isn’t a weapon. It’s not even a broken, sinful man who committed a horrendous crime. It is a devil who laughs in the face of this incident. He rejoices to see the lives of innocent victims lost. As Christians, our response is “to overcome evil with good”. We cannot change what happens, but we can create acts of love from our Heavenly Father while here on earth.
Read MoreSomething I’ve recently realized is this: “Every ending is a beginning & every beginning is an ending.” What does this mean? When we start something new, it means another thing is finished. Like the covenant of marriage, singleness must end for marriage to begin and marriage must begin for singleness to end. Life is complex this way. Joy mixed with sorrow, sorrow mixed with joy. If you ever want to study the complexities of this more in-depth, study the book of Ecclesiastes as Solomon walks through the seasons of life.
Read MoreGroups like ANM help people receive and access the Bible - in their NATIVE language. Right now, we are partnering to promote them giving Children’s Storybook Bibles to China. These Bibles could end up in the hands of children who have NEVER been exposed to Jesus. How cool is that?
Read MoreTwo weeks ago, we had a discussion about 5 signs of a cult and being aware of what type of church you attend. There are many groups that are misleading or drawing people away from the church. However, there are equally a great number of churches that draw people to Jesus. It is important to recognize when you find a great church so you can plug in and be a part!
Read MoreDo you have anyone in your life right now that you admire? I do. I am fortunate enough to have several women in my life who are ahead of me both in years and faith that I look up to and who are full of godly wisdom. Prayerfully, there are some younger ladies in my life who look up to me in that way.
Read MoreI never saw myself continuing this story yet again. We’re talking about Burning ships & Building Bridges again, but this time I’ll pull you back out of leadership and into my personal world. I’ll never forget the week of February 21st. It was the week I burned ships, so I could learn to build bridges.
Read MoreIt was a Friday morning, my day off- I enjoyed a quiet slow start and had a leisurely breakfast. As I prayed about how to spend my day, a verse I had read came to mind. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”-Matthew 7:12a NIV
Read MoreWe are a group of eight friends. Wives, mothers, grandmothers from different parts of the world with one common bond. We all love Christ and met through Bible Study Fellowship in Auckland several years back. Now, though we are no longer in the same Bible study group, we meet once every other month. We try to make it fun each time- a picnic, a swap party, a shared meal, coffee and cake and during the lockdown we even met on zoom sessions a couple of times!
Read MoreIn Part 3, you read about my amazing mentor and best friend who shepherded me so much in how to be a wife and mother. She taught me how to burn ships and build bridges in so many ways. This section of my journey in leadership has perhaps been one of the most challenging. One where instead of being encouraged by pastors and church leaders and peers, I was frowned upon and continued to be. It’s everybody’s favorite topic - female roles in the church.
Read MoreI want to tell you about something I’ve noticed on the journey of building bridges and burning ships (part 1 here). Labels. They are so fun. When you meet a person you start to categorize them - the color of their skin, their age, their gender, their sexuality, or maybe what they do for a living. We don’t intentionally place people in a box - nonetheless we do. One of the things I’ve noticed in the modern-day church is an unintentional “burning ships”.
Read MoreIn so many places we are told to put on facemasks these days. It has become normal. Slip it on, slip it off. That got me thinking. What if someone asked the opposite? Just imagine. Something along these lines: “For your own good and the good of others, please remove your mask.”
Read MoreThroughout our college years and our twenties, my friends and I got together each year in February to celebrate one of our favorite holidays. Not Valentine’s Day—Galentine’s Day.
Read MoreThere is a line in “O Holy Night” that goes: a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. While the weariness lingers everywhere these days, the hope and rejoicing feel a little harder to come by this year. When I am weary, I complain. It slips out of my mouth, almost subconsciously, and it has come much easier to me lately.
Read MoreThis year has been anything but normal. And with the holidays around the corner, it’s safe to say our Thanksgivings and Christmases will probably look a little different than we’re used to. But, the good news is, you can still celebrate the holidays by serving others.
Read MoreA couple of years after finishing college, I decided to move to France to teach as an English assistant in elementary school. While I spoke French passably, it was definitely a transition to suddenly having to communicate with everyone in the language after not practicing since my last college class. It took me a month to feel comfortable enough to brave attempting to go to a church in France.
Read MoreI don’t think there has ever been a point in my life that I wasn’t apart of a church family. I honestly love attending a church service on a Sunday morning. It’s so uplifting and encouraging to see so many other people love and worship Jesus with you. Attending church is definitely been something I want to do, rather than something I have to.
Read MoreThis all happened on a ferry last summer. I was traveling between spaces, and I was weeping. I thought I would hide in the bathroom until I stopped, but I emerged and fell apart again. I didn’t want to walk all the way back to the bathroom and parade my grief before strangers a second time, so I sat on a bench, as children and couples passed. I cried for the whole hour.
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