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Latest from the Greenhouse
The Identity Search – “Who am I?” — adoption, third culture kids, interracial families
My heart grieves the pain and unrest our country is experiencing. It makes me reflect on some of our own family's experiences with white preference and prejudice. I want to share this post again that I wrote a few years ago when our son, Jacob, carried the Venezuela...
Why missionaries are childish and ask for so much
“Do you think I can ask someone to take Jack to the airport?” A ride to the airport is usually no imposition because everything is close in Abilene, Texas. But a ride to the international airport is another story, because it means nearly 3 hours to the DFW airport....
Checklist for the empty nest
It’s an unusual time in the GreenHouse because we have all three sons with us right now. I'm loving it, but I’ve got some work to do before they all disperse as the fall semester begins. Especially because Lucas, our youngest, moves into the dorms next week. I need to...
A Prayer to the Teacher with a towel – “Not you, Lord.”
In the last two posts I told you about an experience when Miguel washed my feet at the side of the river (you can read about it here and here). Today I'm sharing a prayer with you that I wrote after reflecting on my dirty feet and the story of Jesus washing his...
When “Thanks!” is enough
Last week I told you about Miguel washing my feet while I sat at the riverside in the Dominican Republic (you can read the full story here). My dirty feet took me down a path to see my heart in the story of Jesus washing his disciple’s feet, which also helped me see...
2 Lessons learned from dirty feet
This spring I participated in a foot washing ceremony. Two actually. The first occasion was planned. I was part of a team who washed the feet of women who dedicate their lives to service. We took off the participants’ shoes, placed their feet in warm water, washed and...
A good question from a young missionary for “older Christians”
Last week we visited Matt and Tish Harris, missionaries in Australia. Tish threw out a question that stuck with me. It‘s bothered me, actually, so I’m going to share it with you so it can bother you too. “Why are new missionary teams made up of young people? Sometimes...
Top 10 sayings from my Dad
Since Father's Day is this Sunday, I thought I'd share some frequent phrases that our Dad has said through the years. They aren't all profound, but they have all been frequent. And they aren't empty words either--he lives them. So in case Dad wonders if I was ever...
“I can’t.” — Hard words to say from the other side of adoption
Today is his first birthday. I won’t be sharing any cake with him. At the most, my daughter will forward a picture of him that she’ll receive from his mom and dad--his adoptive family. The day he was born is probably the only birthday I’ll share with him because we’re...