My dear friend, Melissa, went to be with Jesus yesterday. Brokenhearted doesn't really begin to touch the way we've all been feeling. Our group of friends has fought with her for nearing 2 years now.  We've watched children, and taken meals.  We've been on our knees... praying and texting scriptures with truth and encouragement between us for months.  And Melissa has been the … [Read more...]

My friend Katie always says, "While we breathe, we hope." So that's what I've been doing around here lately...breathing...and hoping.  And all of that breathing and hoping is the reason that I've been quiet around these parts. After returning home from Bangladesh, I was surprised that it took me almost 2 full weeks to really recover from the jet lag.  Maybe it's that being … [Read more...]

I wanted to share something with you that was just sent to me today.  This is pretty much a glimpse into what we saw in Bangladesh. My friend, Max Dubinsky, who was on the trip with me, shot this throughout our time there.  It is just beautiful and such a picture of the land and people. The video is about 4 minutes long. I started crying about 45 seconds into it. Enjoy, my … [Read more...]

Four days ago, I waved goodbye to Bangladesh. I've been back for a couple of blurry-eyed days now.  Glad to be home, I fell into bed and hardly emerged for honestly almost 2 days.  The jet-lag is still kicking my butt today as I get back to my normal life routine of early-morning carpools, fixing lunches, menu planning, and laundry. Amidst my kids arguing over who-knows-what … [Read more...]

It's 4 in the morning here in Dhaka, Bangladesh and I'm wide awake on the one day that we actually have time to sleep in.  Isn't that the way that it goes?!  We've heard about the tornado-forming storms crossing the east coast of the United States, and I can't help but wish that despite my hatred of bad storms, I want to be home with my family to weather it.  But I'm not, and I … [Read more...]

I love meeting new people.  It's kinda just a thing I really enjoy.  And today I met a new person who I think may have changed me forever.  Her name is Ritu and she lives in a tiny village in Bangladesh. We drove probably an hour and a half outside of Dhaka past rice fields and brick makers.  Smokestacks for giant brick kilns lined the landscape as far as the eye could see in … [Read more...]

Today in Dhaka, we went into a slum.  I've never been anywhere quite like it. We got out of the van and immediately the children started to look at us with such curiosity.  I decided to quit trying to fit into this place and just be myself.  As I was praying this morning before we left, I was reminded that carrying the Kingdom of God and the love of Jesus with me breaks all of … [Read more...]

We made it to Bangladesh. I traveled almost 40 hours to get here from Greenville, SC to Dhaka.  I am very tired.  Very. Tired. From the moment we entered the gate of the Istanbul airport bound for this foreign land, it became very obvious that we’re not anywhere familiar anymore.  The women were all wearing the Salwar Kameez, and the men certainly noticed that we … [Read more...]

I've been meaning to write this post for a week...ahh...those darn intentions!  They so often don't cooperate with my actual plans! For the past week, I've been squealing with joy inside my heart!  My dear friend Sarah Mae, just released her first published book this past week!  And, it broke into the top 100 on Amazon!  I'm so proud of my friend because of what she's … [Read more...]