December is usually the month when Emily searches online for the best deals on photo-laden Christmas cards and I write the text portion. You won’t be getting a Christmas card from us this year, but it’s not because we don’t care about you. The opposite is true! So many of you play an integral part in our life – our physical family, our church family, Nyra’s school, our Saint Johns community, our neighbors, and friends and strangers who pray for us. We’ll most likely be sending actual cards every couple years from now on, but this year serves as our

My last living grandfather – my mom’s dad – left this world of suffering and sorrow to join his Creator and Savior last month. He was 83 years old, but his death was sudden and unexpected, leaving us all reeling. I wanted to share with you some of the thoughts I journaled the morning after he passed, and some memories I shared at his funeral with the help of my brother. I’m sharing this for two reasons. One is to honor Papa Leonard by hopefully giving you a tiny taste of who he was. Another is to show how Christians

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.Ephesians 5:15-16 The Greek word translated “your time” in this passage is kairos, which refers more to our whole time here on earth than it does to the minutes and hours in our days. We in the English-speaking world tend to view time like a lap pool at the YMCA — we’re standing at one end, and the thing we want is at the other end — so we simply have to cross the pool as quickly

12/26/12 12/26/12Snow starts falling lightly in Jackson, MI as we load up our vehicle for the long drive to Charlotte, NC. Christmas was so special yesterday; our first as a married couple. We pass the small evergreen that Lane cut down for us as we walk back and forth from apartment to vehicle countless times. In the car and on the road, the snow picks up a bit.  12/26/23 12/26/23It’s been an unusually warm few days for this time of year in Saint Johns, MI. Yesterday’s Christmas was such a nice day that we even took all three kids for

This photo was taken shortly after we were married in 2012. Only the Lord knew how the next 11 years would look for us as we eagerly prayed for, hoped, and dreamed of what it would hold. I was working as a new nurse, Lane was going to pursue his TESL degree, we both had just finished Bible school and were so excited to get overseas to share the most precious story of our Rescuer with those who haven’t had a chance to hear.  God had other plans.     This past weekend we took our three kids to Mackinaw