Really interesting post on Carl Medearis’ blog about what a missionary is.  Such a familiar conversation (not with our children, of course).  Highlight: I asked her what she thought we were doing while in Lebanon. Her answer was as shocking as it was insightful.  ”We were just living in Lebanon as regular people loving others [...]

I’m at our favorite coffee shop right now.  I’ve started going here one morning a week, just to be out among people and also because I get stir crazy working from home all the time.  It’s a cool place – great scones, decent coffee, and a nice view of the Irish sea.  There’s another joy [...]

I love what John Piper has to say about the economic situation: http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1588_John_Piper_on_the_Economic_Downturn/ Peace, Mark

Check out “The Year 2008 in Photographs” from the Boston Globe.  There are some BEAUTIFUL photos (and some disturbing ones): http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/12/the_year_2008_in_photographs_p.html Peace.

For those of you that missed it (which was not many, judging by the myriads of facebook wall-posters), I turned 28 yesterday.  One of the first things that my lovely bride said to me that morning was: “Wow, you’re just firmly in the late-twenties now.  I mean, 27 is kind of on the line, but [...]

Well, we all knew it would happen.  Sooner or later, the excitement of moving and meeting people and dreaming wears off and you’re left living in a place that’s still slightly uncomfortable, missing your friends, and gearing up for the reality that dreams take work, risk, and hardship.  We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.  [...]

God has been so good to us so far.  I don’t want to make it sound like it’s been all roses – we’ve had struggles and everything hasn’t been easy, but MAN He’s taken care of us.  He’s been extravagantly kind.  For example: Traveling with a guitar is a real pain.  If you check it, [...]

In about nine hours we’ll board the plane that will take us to Chicago and then on to Dublin.  In less than 24 hours we will have landed in Dublin, taken a bus up to Newry, been picked up by our friend Campbell and shuttled on to our destination.  We will probably be thinking about [...]

Ange and I are reading a book called Red Moon Rising. It’s about the 24-7prayer movement and it’s really interesting. This passage really struck us and, strangely, gives me a lot of hope: J. Edwin Orr, a widely respected historian, in a message called “Prayer & Revival,” described the situation in America in the 1780s. [...]

This is a strange thing to be thinking about when it’s been such a week of celebrating God’s goodness (did you hear we got our visa!?!), but I’ve been thinking about pain today. One of the most alarming things about Jesus and his teaching is that He never guarantees that we won’t be hurt – [...]