On a steamy August night, a scared little girl in a purple sweater stepped through the door and changed our lives. In a dusty Ukrainian steel-town, another compassionate little girl in hand-me-down clothes offered me berries and wrapped her arm around me as I cried. These girls had nothing.   No ipods or cell phones or TiVos or laptops. No clothes of their own. No home. No family. How could we not help them?   My comfortable life has come face to face with need and loss and emptiness. I can’t go back to life the way it was before. I’m […]

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Today is Father’s Day. The day to hang out at the lake, grill manly meat, and for the kids to mow the lawn while Dad rests in the hammock with the beverage of his choice. If you’re a father, congratulations! If you live with a father, cater to him. If you have a father, call him. If you’ve lost your father, remember him. Try to find a moment sometime during the day to say a prayer for the children who don’t have a father to grill for.  (Yes, that was a bit of a Jesus Juke.  Sorry about that.  Back […]

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Work has picked up lately.  More specifically, travel for work has picked up lately. When I’m not on the road, I work from an office in my house.  In my yoga pants. Travel means putting on big-girl clothes like the rest of you do every day.  Makeup.  Shoes. I have to look like a real live human being.  And sit in conference rooms and draw on whiteboards and lead conversations and make decisions.  That takes a lot of effort, and to be honest, some days I wonder if it’s worth it. I wonder why. Last February, I was honored to […]

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This is a guest post from Ben Steele; I’m trading spaces with him today!  Ben lives, works, and learns in Auburn, AL.  His job as a machinist and welder is the patron of his true passions: teaching the Bible, and loving and leading God’s people.  Ben writes for young men making their way as spiritual leaders at BigHairyDeal.net.  Connect with him on Twitter @thebensteele. Stop by and check out my post, Fathers, at Ben’s site, and welcome him as he visits our little riverbank.    When Christine first invited me to post on her blog I was pretty excited but I wondered what […]

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Even on vacation, I’m reminded that there are children both here and around the world that need to be protected.   There are 153 million orphans in the world. Many of them suffer from neglect and abuse. Over 2 million of them live here in the United States. What can we do about this? Leave a creative idea in the comments….