Category: Current Events
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Yes, but. . .
It’s like the guy who enters a coffee shop and takes a seat at a table next to a group of women. One woman begins to share her recent account of a traumatic labor and delivery. In the company of friends, she recounts how she wanted to have a natural birth at home, but after…
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The Season After
Several times a week our grandmotherly neighbor in Romania would knock on my door and deposit a warm 1.5 liter bottle of fresh milk in my hands. She was the delivery, providing the service for another neighbor whose primary means of income was the cash she received from the milk of her one cow. I…
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A murder in Romania hits close to home
Sunbeams burst through the fog that nestled among the fields and groves along a rural, two-lane road in southern Romania. On this early morning I was headed to the airport several hours away. Normally my car was loaded with three carseats and rowdy kids. On this day I felt the infrequent release of freedom that…
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George H. W. Bush, from a dung floor under a tin roof in Chebitet, Kenya
I have mental snapshots and memories of the main house on the family compound. We were living with a Kipsigis family on their rural Kenyan land, surrounded by rolling hills, grazing cows, and red dirt. In this main building, we shared meals around a long table and the boys slept in the corner, having given…
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Even This Stone – An Easter meditation; Grootfontein, Namibia
Lil’s P’s cowboy boots slipped on the side of the rock, belying its composition of pure metal. We didn’t expect to befall a space treasure on our Namibia trip, but it happened to be on a not-too-distant detour on the route from Windhoek to Rundu. We followed signs from the highway and when we arrived,…
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What Refugees Need Now
I am compelled to add my voice to millions of American citizens who are crying out, lamenting, over the refugee families who are turned away at airports, those who have been told at government offices abroad that their application is now on hold. Though I am not an expert in consular affairs, I do know…
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BREXIT in the Algarve, Portugal
In a place where grocery stores carry no less than five varieties of British cheddar and every village has at least one Indian restaurant, the Brits are no strangers to the Algarve, Portugal’s beach paradise. So it’s no surprise that when we stepped out the door this morning we couldn’t help overhearing conversations taking place…
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It’s Easter this side of the Schism
Everything is cancelled this week. School, programs, events, regular meetings. Talk to friends, “Can you get together?” Sorry, we’re busy getting ready for Easter. What could you possibly be doing for an entire week to prepare for Easter? By default, I viewed their Easter preparations through my cultural lens. This celebration was far in the…
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Thinking Biblically in an election year, no matter where you live
Like millions of people outside the United States, I am watching the U.S. elections from afar but with great interest. Given the headlines and the articles on my news feed, on any given day my emotions can range from incredulity and disgust to pangs of dread over the potential outcome. As a student of political…
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Where Can We Be Safe?
This piece I wrote was published at The Gospel Coalition nearly two weeks ago. In light of recent events, it’s more timely than ever. ********************************************************************************************************************** Last spring I promised my kids a visit to a new playground. It was early evening when we pulled up to the play structure in an urban Virginia neighborhood a mile from…
will travel with kids 