“Mom, no!!! I don’t want to ‘just cut off the moldly part and eat the rest of the cheese.’ That’s disgusting!!” I’m not sure if your kids have ever said this to you, but this statement has been said to me on more than one occasion. You see, growing up, my parents taught me many good things. One of them was to never be wasteful. I know their own parents were extremely conscious of not wasting food, water or electricity, especially because they lived during the Depression. Even wasting a product Read More
Push Through the Awkward To Say “I Love you”
Recently I was reading something by Christine Hoover and was struck by the phrase she came up with: Push through the Awkward. I've used it many times since then because I think it does a good job capturing something. I got kind of inspired to write a "Push Through the Awkward" series last month. I'm really not sure if it'll be useful to anyone out there, but hopefully it will give you a little something to think about. I guess this post could also be titled, "When it's hard to say I love Read More
Frayed Shoes and Fresh Starts
There is something about the first day of school that makes me so giddy. I just love fresh starts. I think that's what it is. Newly sharpened pencils and fresh crayons. All of your attempts at organization get another chance. Something that feels dead gets resuscitated. Atleast that's how it feels for me. There was a little wrench thrown into my "fresh start" this year, however. When we went out to buy NEW things for a NEW school year, my ten-year-old refused to participate. Her Read More
Everyday Evangelism (3/5): But Why Is It So HARD?
In last week's blog post, I told a story that clarified the gospel. Now whenever I use the term gospel, you know what I mean. The gospel is not doing good deeds (although these are nice...), but rather the age-old message of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today I want to discuss: Why is it so hard to share this gospel? When I lived in Iceland, I got to observe dying Christianity at its finest. When discussing this phenomenon with an Icelandic Christian, she summed it Read More
Everyday Evangelism (2/5): “But, what IS the gospel?”
If "evangelism" means sharing the gospel, what then IS the gospel? Fortunately for me, I live with a scholar who set me straight on this issue. Many years ago, our family visited a church while we were travelling. A representative from a humanitarian organization was speaking that day and we listened to his stories about Africa and poverty. His message pinnacled around one particular story. I can't remember every detail, but it involved this man befriending a little African boy and Read More
Everyday Evangelism (1/5): A Taboo Conversation?
I just googled synonyms for evangelism because I know some people hate the word. Sermonizing, propoganda, brainwashing...yikes...I guess I'll stick to evangelism. I know this topic isn't the most comfortable, but here we go.... Recently, I came across a post that resonated with me so deeply that I put it by my sink and so I could pray it every morning. In his open letter to his (and my) denomination, the author began by confronting himself to love Jesus more deeply and tell others Read More
I Am a Heart Mom
I wrote this poem a few years ago and thought I'd repost it for American Heart Month. I was brought to tears today thinking about how well our heart baby is doing. I'm just so thankful for all that God has taught us. To read the whole story of my journey as a heart mom, check out my new book HERE. I am a heart mom. I have felt, at a twenty-week ultrasound, floorboards cracking and giving way under my jumping, celebrating feet as the words Congratulations, it's a girl were chased away all Read More
When a Girl from Michigan Moves to Africa
I've come to the conclusion that I don't blog enough to be a blogger. Thankfully, I know a lot of wise, talented writers who have agreed to guest blog for me. Our first guest blogger of 2016 is Trisha Dickinson. Trisha and I met in college because our boyfriends (Colby and Josh) were childhood friends. When Trisha and her husband moved to Senegal as missionaries, I began to follow their blog. Reading about their lives consistently challenges me to follow Christ with more abandon. Today I Read More
My Crisis of Faith and How to Get Through Your Own
Have you ever asked your self one of these questions: If ultimate truth really does exist, how could I even find it? And, if I did find it, how would I know that I’ve found it? There are so many religions out there, how could we possibly know which one is right? Even though I was born in a Christian home, went to church three times a week, attended Christian college, and went right from there into ministry life, I went through a crisis-of-faith of sorts at age 28. It actually began the Read More
A Girl Named Noel Devin
Today there is a funeral in Texas. I'm sure there are many other funerals happening around the world today, but this one is for my friend, Noel. I've never met Noel, so it may appear strange that I wrote something to be read at her funeral. But, actually the opposite is true. I wish I could have flown to Texas today to read this in front of everyone, but I couldn't. But the following is what I would have said: ** My name is Annie Garman and I have never met any of you. But our lives Read More