Dumb things that have been said about the Charleston shooting

“This isn’t about racism; it wasn’t a hate crime.” News people actually said that. Yes, they said it at the beginning, before more facts were known, I guess. But they should be careful about choosing words that turn out to be wrong. Those same people condemn people who say after a terrorist attack, “We aren’t sure if this attack was a terrorist attack” or “Islam was not the cause of this attack.” It seems as though liberals are hesitant to call anything “terrorist” and conservatives are hesitant to call anything “racist.” But they are both wrong. Sometimes things are caused by terrorism, and sometimes things are caused by racism. Why are both conservatives and liberals so quick to pick sides? Wait for the facts before you report.

My thoughts on the Confederate flag

In my opinion, people should be free in America to fly any flag they want, whether it’s a flag of another country, another religious group, a treasonous faction within the United States—Nazi, Islamic, Confederate, Satanist, whatever. I don’t think anyone wants to remove the Confederate flag from the pages of history—delete all those unpleasant facts and pretend there never was a Civil War. Some people talk as though this were part of the debate, but why should it be? History is important, and the facts matter. We need to know history; we need to remember history and have memorials and museums to teach us. However, we should be careful what flags we allow on government property.

Musings on Minecraft and Heaven

I bought Minecraft for Paul, and he loves it, but being a Sim fan myself I have discovered that I love it, too. There is a lot of potential for an entertaining game, whether you are playing in Survival Mode or Creative Mode. It was in the Creative Mode, however, that I started to philosophize about the afterlife—the real one, after life on this earth. Many people wonder what we will do in a world where we don’t have to worry about death and suffering, where we won’t get sick or hurt or have survival needs. Actually, I think the answer of what we won’t do is shorter than what we will do. We won’t die. We won’t get sick. We won’t do wrong or hurtful things to others. We won’t hurt ourselves. We won’t be jealous or mean or sad. But what will we do?

The Dark Sides of Voodoo

                Recently I saw a travel article giving tips on how to get out in the world and “experience” some voodoo. Voodoo sounds pretty cool, with interesting-looking artifacts, music and dance, and an ancient connection to African culture. But as a missionary, I have learned some things about voodoo that go beyond the curious, into a dark and destructive world.

Why I Don't Love My Husband More Than My Kids (or vice versa)

                Lately I've read some articles where people explain that our society has it backwards: instead of loving our kids so much, we should love our husbands more. After all, you chose your husband, and he'll be around when the kids are gone, but you didn't choose your kids. As people say, if we don't have a strong marriage, the kids will suffer, so loving your husband more is good for your kids. (Try to tell that to someone whose husband beats her and the kids. I'm sure the kids in that family appreciate that the wife put her husband above them.) It's also good to make sure your kids know they're not the center of the universe, as bloggers these days are convinced that everyone else is doing with their kids. From a Christian perspective, some people even say putting your husband above your kids is the "biblical" way. I don't see it that way, and let me explain why.

A Few Ramblings on the Nature of Faith

                I haven't yet watched the debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye, but I hope to be able to do so soon. This morning, though, I felt compelled to write a note about my own understanding on what faith is and when we ought to have faith. I remember years ago watching a documentary on PBS telling why creationism was dumb. They interviewed a kid who had been raised in a Christian family and went to college, where he was taught about evolution and came to question his faith. Then the interview shifted to his parents, who basically said, "Faith isn't supposed to make sense! It's not based on logic or reasoning; you're just supposed to believe it." Let me tell you: according to that logic, faith really would be pretty dumb. So would creationism. If evidence pointed out that something was not true, and you believed it anyway, that would be pretty dumb of you.

What was it like to have a baby in Africa? Part Three

I am not completely sure whether Paul was born at 37 weeks or 40 weeks. Before we left for Africa, I had an ultrasound in America. We found out that Paul was a boy (yay!) and that based on his size, his due date should be December 27. When I got to Africa, the doctor told me that they didn't base due dates on the size of the baby according to ultrasound, but on the menstrual cycle alone. That put my due date at December 9. We had an ultrasound in Africa, and the doctor said that his size, although not very big, was perfectly fine for a healthy birth. The doctor even told me that if I didn't go into labor by December 9, he was going to induce. It made me a little nervous, wondering if it was really too early to be inducing, since the American doctor had given me a different due date. That last week the doctor also gave me a prescription for a pill that was supposed to help me have contractions, which I obediently took without thinking too much about whether or not that was a good idea.

What was it like to have a baby in Africa? Part Two

July, 2007. Five months pregnant. Getting on the plane to the tiny country of Togo, West Africa--not for a visit, but to spend years, perhaps a lifetime, building a life there. I was excited, nervous, afraid; not sure what to expect. I felt like I was jumping off a high dive (not something I normally like to do.) I had an idea of what difficult struggles I would face when I got to Africa: things like dangerous snakes and spiders, demonic activity, angry thieves with machetes, etc. I was wrong.

Why should we discourage people from gaining or losing assurance of salvation, based on how they live?

I do not EVER question my salvation. I say that boldly, with assurance, and with absolutely no pride attached. I do not look at my works to determine whether or not I am saved. I am 100% confident that when I die, I will go to heaven. No question. Why?

James 2:8-26: Part Two

Verses 2:17, 20 and 2:26 all tell us that faith without works is dead. Many people assume that this means that if a person does not do good works, he doesn’t really believe in God. They say he isn’t really a Christian, because he must not truly believe. His faith must not be real. I would like to show you another usage of the word “dead” in Scripture.

James 2:8-26: Part One

A true believer in Christ knows that in order to be saved from hell, from the penalty of our sins, one must believe in Jesus Christ, whose death paid for our sins and made salvation possible for us. There are no good works that we can do to earn salvation; it is a free gift to those who believe. Jesus promised that those who believe in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Faith alone is all it takes for us to receive salvation from hell, and eternal life in heaven! What is faith?

What Was it Like to Have a Baby in Africa? Part One

I get asked this question a lot. Frankly, I have no idea how to respond, at least in oral conversation. How do I explain what it was like, in a five minute conversation with someone? How much do you want to know? What details should I share? I don't blame people for asking; I'm glad that they're interested in my life. But I usually don't know what to say, so I respond, "Fine."

Part One: Why would you do that?

How Big is Africa?

Ready for Wherever

Battery powered fans. Plenty of contact solution. Oral B dental floss (Bill is picky about his brand.) Sturdy American-quality kitchen matches. Preschool workbook for Paul. Wall borders beautifully decorating our living room and Paul's room. Seeds for the garden. Yankee candles for Christmas. We came back to Africa prepared to stay longer, all set with everything we needed (things we found that we missed after the first term.) And here we are leaving already! But we go where God wants us. Like turtles, we can make a home wherever we find ourselves. And I am learning the value of making that home special, in the present, no matter where the future takes us. Taking advantage of ministry opportunies. Enjoying life. Cultivating relationships with my husband and sons.

The Theme of My Blog

It seems like most people who write blogs stick to one theme—something that defines them as a person, something that they enjoy. As I came up with the title of my blog, I tried to think of which subjects I most wanted to write about. Parenthood? Homeschooling? Africa? Life as a missionary wife? Theology? Bible devotions? Political and social themes? 19^th century literature? I could have separate blogs for each subject, but that would be too complicated and it would probably take me years to go back to some of them. So I decided to write about what matters to me.

Why I Dislike Blogs

Ever since elementary school, I’ve considered myself a writer. For a person who thinks a lot but doesn’t talk much, writing has always been a way for my thoughts to mean something. It has always been a dream of mine to be published, but I never discipline myself enough to complete a project for publication. When I first learned about blogs, they sounded like a perfect outlet for an aspiring writer. People could see my work, without my having to go through a publisher! I could get immediate feedback, modify a few things, and build up a repertoire of articles that I could be proud of, even if they were never published. Or, I could use the exercise to complete articles that I could send off to a publisher.

Missionary

What Christians think I do

What non-Christians think I do

What my in-laws think I do

What I think I do

What my friends think I do

What I actually do