On Grabbing and Stuff
If you want to see more young women in ministry, especially in ministry overseas, you have to raise them to understand that it is never acceptable to be spoken about in such a way that it makes you want to hide.
Give it Away Now
There are days when a thought sneaks into my head about how she's younger and cooler than me. How she's better at this than I am. How I am obsolete or too old or too uncool. How she will go further than I have.
Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)
There was a piece of my mother that remained absolutely her own. When I hear this song, I see her that way - not as a mom or a wife or a woman doing ministry.
You Should Grow Your Hair
You should grow your hair out, he told her. I like girls with long hair.
Moving Abroad is Not Like Flying
Moving abroad doesn't feel like spreading your wings or flying at all. It's nice to think of it that way. But it actually feels a lot more like climbing a mountain.
If She'd Been Healed...
If she'd been healed, we would have had a great story. A great testimony. But the thing is, sometimes the testimony isn't that God gave you what you wanted - it's that He made you into the person you couldn't become without the tragedy.
How to Love a Missionary (Part One - Hospitality)
There is something really special about eating together around a table in a home.
4 Ways to Nurture Your Daughter's Ministry Call
Begin to open the door for her now. Begin to instill in her a boldness and an unapologetic desire for the advancement of the Gospel.
Book Review - Faithful: A Theology of Sex
In this 96-page book, Beth Felker Jones brings the discussion of sex out of the realm of untouchable and into the reality of our everyday lives.
In Praise of Fat Little Preachers' Wives
How many women in my life have been so ordinary that the light inside of them was like a sweet, secret treasure - morsels of grace to be shared simply and quietly? Sitting across from coffee or pancakes much later than I planned has proven to me to be more healing, more life-giving than people living on a larger scene.
They Named Me Bold
Why pray for our daughters to be filled with the Spirit if we are not going to let the Spirit speak through them?
What My Dog Taught Me About Fasting
I so often don't even notice the beautiful presence of God because of my frantic desire to take what I want, when I want it.
An Unanswerable Question
How do I convince young people in today's church that the ultimate prize is not marriage but a life unwaveringly committed to the cause of Christ? I model it for them. I ask you to do the same - married or single. We open our hearts and our homes to one another as the family of Christ.
When Hosannas Turn Silent
I walked through the train station on Wednesday like I was in a fog. Everything seemed muted and fuzzy and I noticed an acute absence of that joy, that wild praise that had driven my steps earlier in the week. That bursting-with-love heart I had carried had been replaced with the sad bruised one. Even breathing hurt.
How to Fail at Language School (Or Anything Else in Life)
The reality is, there are times when we fail. Sometimes it's because of things beyond our control, but if we are honest with ourselves, a lot of times it's because we haven't prepared. Or we've been prideful. Or we're too concerned with our appearance to internalize change.
The Stages of Missionary Life
So you wanna know what it's really like to be a missionary? Well there's a lot to it, but here's a glimpse inside the process of the beginning of a missionary journey...
Dear Single Girl (An Open Letter)
All those youth group sermons where you made lists of the qualities of the man you would marry - did anyone tell you that you can have a full, abundant life following the path God has laid out for you without waiting?
What to Get Your Teenage Daughter for Christmas + Peanut Butter Dream Bars
She had filled the pages with the recipes we had been raised on. Hot corn casserole from Thanksgiving dinners with the Padgetts. Mamaw's spicy potato soup that Dad still requests at every opportunity. Vinita's monster cookies that she made the dads for their early morning fishing trips. Grandma Marie's apple pie.