Missions Wednesday: Egypt

We have been hearing a lot about Egypt on the news lately. While I haven’t been following it as closely as I would like, I do know that in a lot of ways history is being made in Egypt as the unrest continues. It’s hard to wade through the media waters and glean truth about the situation, but even as we watch these things unfold thousands of miles away we can know one thing—God is surely at work. Conflict and turmoil have a way of drawing people to the Savior, and we can pray that God would use this situation to draw Egyptian people to himself.

Friday is for Fotos

This picture captures my husband so perfectly. The morning of his grandma's funeral we all hung around the hotel. A lot of his cousins have kids now and this sweet girl is one of them. Daniel loves kids and he loves serving. He could not wait to hold her and play with her. And in typical Daniel fashion he asked if he could feed her. He knew it would serve her parents (and he knew he would get time with her!). So this picture warms my heart today. I hope it warms your heart too!

Happy Friday!

Believing the Promises

I have been reading through the Old Testament in my personal Bible reading, and I have enjoyed reading the stories of God’s faithfulness with his people. But I often struggle with their constant faithlessness. God shows himself time and time again and they grumble and complain. But what always strikes me most is that I know the end of the stories. I know that God fulfills all of his promises because I live on this side of their fulfillment—Christ’s coming to earth. I live on this side of the completion of the canon.

Update on NYC Missions Trip

Missions trip updates are always so hard. How do you fit seven days of ministry into a few short paragraphs? One of the benefits of going on a domestic mission trip is there is no "re-entry culture shock". Granted, I saw a lot of things that were different than what I am used to, but nothing like shacks with tin roofs and starving children. And there was always this sense that even though the culture around me was very different at times, I was still in America. It felt American in NYC. Maybe that is the beauty of our nation, you can be a minority in one part of town and yet still know that this is America. The nations have been brought to us.

A Safe Place for Loss

It is not a shock that in many circles miscarriage is a taboo subject. I have recently noticed a rise in famous people bringing up their own pregnancy losses in public arenas. In some ways this is good. It brings voice to a silent sorrow for many women. But it can't stop with celebrities. Today, the Christianity Today women's blog has an interesting post titled "What Celebrity Miscarriages Teach Us." They link to an interview with Lisa Ling on The View about her recent miscarriage, and her thoughts are worth listening to. Her final solution to the pain of miscarriage is Christ-less, and ultimately unhelpful. But her premise, that miscarriage needs to be talked about, is right.
 

Missions Wednesday: Congo

Africa is a continent riddled with conflict, poverty, and HIV. The Republic of Congo is one of these countries. Congo (not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo) is a former French colony, like many countries in Africa. Upon gaining its independence, it has faced civil wars and poverty, lived two decades as a socialist state, and is struggling to live under democracy with an authoritarian leader.