Being a good neighbor isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’m often tempted to think it means making sure your dog doesn’t poop in other people’s yards and waving to your neighbors when you’re both outside. Unfortunately, many of us go for years without even...
By partnering with these two local churches, we from Grace Church have a chance to encourage them in their mission. They are already doing God’s work, and we have the privilege and pleasure of being a part of it....
While there, I was abused mentally, physically, sexually, and emotionally. Anything they could do to me was done. I was told several times that I deserved what was being done to me. It was during this time that I started to get angry with God....
I don’t know what all the answers are, but I know the church can help bridge that gap, and in the process, make a big difference. I know Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself.”...
Thinking about joining a short-term mission team this summer? The pros and cons of such trips have been debated over the years. And while short-term missions will never become a perfected model for missions, we believe that they can be done well and that they...
At dinner, our family spent a good 30 minutes or more sharing memories of all our friends and favorite moments from our season in Allendale. I think about Allendale a lot, I get happy talking with others about it. I love when others visit our...
The traditions and the foods may be different, but even across the globe, we can unite with our Kenyan brothers and sisters in this great celebration. Christ has come to earth! The redemption of our souls has been accomplished. Our God has made a way,...
We have been pursued, therefore we pursue. We have been brought into God’s family. Therefore we bring others into ours. We now live in a state of eternal belonging, therefore we bring others into our lives and offer them a place to belong. We...
Satan is an unforgiving and dominating master, and the consequences and darkness of sin had corroded humanity - those made in God's image- since the beginning of time. We were slaves to our own sinful natures; our cravings and desires were the very things destroying...
At Christmas we rejoice in the birth of a child. Though much-awaited through the volumes of history, this child slipped into the world with little fanfare and even fewer resources. Illegitimately born into the care of a teenage mother, he was without status, power, or...
For as long as I have understood what adoption was, I have known it to be a beautiful thing. I had a family friend who was adopted and her parents always talked about it openly, about how they waited for her and felt so grateful...
The world around us is ever-changing and, at times, can feel as if it’s spinning out of control. As believers in Jesus, we must discipline ourselves to set our hope in eternity and to rest in the sovereignty of God. However, we must also learn...
I hear the same question all the time: Why did you adopt internationally? There are so many kids here in the U.S. that need a home. Wouldn’t that have been easier? My stomach drops to the floor and back into my throat within a moment. Because...
In hard-hit North Carolina, swollen rivers are at last receding. As residents return to communities that were underwater for days, the Red Cross is delivering meals, snacks and relief supplies, including cleanup kits to help families muck out flood-ravaged homes....
Life is a funny thing. It passes slowly and yet quickly. The longer we live it, the more sure we become that our time is passing and fleeting. We long to live lives filled with meaning, but then we find ourselves filling our day-to-day with...
I will never forget the last day of the mission trip that I participated in this summer. It was Friday, the seventh day of our journey into the heart of Nicaragua. After a long and amazing week of serving the people in this beautiful country, it...
The world around us is ever-changing and, at times, can feel as if it's spinning out of control. As believers in Jesus, we must discipline ourselves to set our hope in eternity and to rest in the sovereignty of God. However, we must also learn...
Over the next several days, up to 12,000 evacuees from the lower part of South Carolina are expected to travel upstate. We desire to steward our resources in a meaningful way as a proactive response to this potential need....
In my early 30’s all of these thoughts occurred on a regular basis about work. They were lies, excuses, a means to justify an escape, an unmasked a deep desire to be known. Regardless, they were all a distraction from the “Who.” I mistakenly believed...
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” (Colossians 3:23) My vocation is by nature “for the Lord.” I came to Papua New Guinea to plant a church because I wanted to work for the Lord generally, and I...
Since I was young I’ve heard the joke about stay-at-home moms sitting on the couch, watching Soaps and eating bonbons all day. I just Googled it and received over 17,000 results, so apparently the saying is still floating around. And even though I never saw...
Many women come to us thinking that we are the women's clinic next door,” says Michele Reeves. Nervous, confused, and emotional, women from all walks of life come in thinking that abortion is the only option. There are three women’s clinics offering abortions in our...
I very much wanted a family, but I really always saw myself as a working mom. I even rolled my eyes a little at college friends who would be studying their bums off for finals, knowing that their ultimate goal was just to raise babies....
When we think about our work we typically think of our vocation (job) and the required activity it takes to complete its mission-a lawyer doing litigation work, a server serving tables, a homemaker managing the household, a project leader coordinating a project team...
The world around us is ever-changing and, at times, can feel as if it's spinning out of control. As believers in Jesus, we must discipline ourselves to set our hope in eternity and to rest in the sovereignty of God....