Neighboring in Your Culture + Hulk Muffins
It was Christmas time several years ago while we were in language school, hunkered down in a bitterly cold northern Asian city. I had just spent the afternoon baking and decorating cookies with the kids in preparation to hand them out to friends and attend a cookie exchange party. I had been utilizing the things […]
When I Would Rather Hit You Than Love You
I really loved the people of my host country before we went. I mean, I prayed for them, I sacrificed for them, I fought for them and advocated for them, I spoke in front of groups for them! It was a God given love fueled by excitement at what the future could be. And then […]
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Last week a neighbor popped over to give my children the toys she had earned through her grocery store purchases. That gesture, entirely mundane and unremarkable in my home context, has filled me with pleasure every time I’ve thought about it since. Our home in the U.S. was a small town, tight-knit and friendly. Many […]
Open the Gates
I grew to love living behind a fence, barbed wire and broken glass at the top and bars on the windows keeping fear at bay. I craved safety and security, but with risk held at arm’s length sometimes I found people and relationships kept on the other side of the fence too. I didn’t know […]
This Week’s Theme: Love Your Neighbor
Just about anywhere we live around the world we have other people living near us, whether it’s the apartment with a shared wall, the house on the other side of the fence, or the farm at the other end of the road. No matter where we are, we must learn to love our neighbors. For […]