When I was six, my mother had a stroke and lost the ability to move and speak. She regained her abilities, with only the slightest slurring of her speech in times of stress. When our first child was born, my mother had cancer. For five hours, surgeons removed malignant tissue from her tongue, jaw, and…
Photos by Chuck Snyder We just enjoyed a vacation. Spending all day every day in God’s glorious creation was deeply refreshing. It was also a trek of trust. I had steeled myself to trust God with poisonous snakes, which we only saw twice on our hikes. What I had not steeled myself for was the…
When mice got into our home through the wall adjoining our neighbor to the south, but bedbugs did not come through the wall adjoining our neighbor to the north, my gratitude mantra was, “Merciful mice: bigger critters, smaller problems.” There was, however, still the leaking roof, which could not be repaired until warmer weather. The…
There are always challenges to cross-cultural communication. On our flight to the Philippines, no one was getting on or off the scheduled stop in Hawaii, so our pilot decided to skip that late night layover. Consequently, our plane landed in Manila at 1 AM, rather than the planned 4:30 AM arrival. This was before the…
Barsabbas recently captured my imagination. What would it have been like to have been one of two people put forward as the apostolic replacement for Judas but not to be the one who was chosen? It’s easy to think that, back then, people didn’t indulge petty jealousy. Scripture, however—from Cain to Corinthians—indicates otherwise. Barsabbas was…
Stasie pointed out that, when I swam, I didn’t pull my arm all the way through, but brought my hand up too soon for the next stroke. I grew up in the era before swim goggles and couldn’t stand the feel of them, but Ed urged me to protect my eyes. Following their advice for…
We saw a film about a group that climbed Mount Everest. They had to guard against ice towers that tumbled without warning, coughing spells that cracked ribs, and freezing hurricane-force winds. They had to react instantly to the slightest faltering to keep themselves from hurtling down icy slopes. We need that kind of vigilance as…
There are many wise and spiritual reasons to journal, but I am delighted that I have left a paper trail if only because it’s such fun to stumble over forgotten happenings. One of our sons, evidently, came home with hair the color of those food dyes we wouldn’t let him eat. When Chuck and I…
Years ago, I enjoyed team ministry with a Belizean church. With two dozen women and girls, I slept on the floor of what was once a dance hall. That is, I tried to sleep, watching the mirrored disco ball circle overhead. Music from partiers in the park across the street blasted through our open windows.…
