I walked into the church auditorium, wandering toward our usual row — it was full. The whole row was full, and so was the one behind it. The older lady who usually sits behind me had already found a different seat beside a friend. I overheard her say, "I usually sit over there, but I don't mind ...
Read More > about How to Put Down a Hang-Up
It had been a full time of working in West Africa when we arrived at the airport for our flight home. Standing at the entrance in a state of slightly panicked prayer, we watched our phones, waiting for our health tests to hit the screen. I didn't want help to pause. I wanted my results! I Don't Want ...
Read More > about How God Gives Us Help to Pause
When was the last time you looked at someone who's different than you and thought, "People are so strange"? I sat at the end of a long pine table with a latte in my hand, tapping a pen on a pad of paper for jotting down jot-worthy things. It was mostly empty. He came shuffling in, toting an unkempt, ...
Read More > about Strange People and How to Live Together
Jeff and I met playing volleyball. But we’re both short, so we’re not known for spiking the ball over the net. The player who spikes it usually gets credit for a point, but it’s actually the bump and the set that win the game. Bump—set—spike. If you’re going to connect, you have to know how to ...
Read More > about The Turning Point in Connecting With Others
I get whiplash in January. After a November focus on gratitude, we enter December intentionally giving to others, seeing others. Then January arrives. The world encourages us to do an about-face. Somehow it doesn’t feel right packing up the humble manger scene and putting myself in the center of a ...
Read More > about Seeing Others Helps Us See Ourselves
