Three countries. Four trips. Twelve flights. And more hours in vehicles than I can count (seriously, I tried on my phone calculator and gave up). This summer has been filled with my favorite pastime: traveling. Exploring foreign places and embracing…
Bubba-Doo’s takes flight
A buzz was in the air. There was no disputing that something unusual was happening. Although the big news involved my favorite hangout, I actually heard about it at my office rather than at the store. Bubba-Doo’s was going to…
A fond, fade-proof 2022 memory: Ezra’s and Marvo’s big Boston adventure
Go ahead and ask me what I’ll remember most from 2022. I’m pretty sure I know what it’ll be. This year’s memory-making competition could be fierce, for sure: History will record Russia’s unprompted, immoral, savage war on Ukraine in bold…
Gov. Abbott’s COVID-19 vaccination ban tramples on my religious practice
Like me, many Christians in Texas live in a state of perpetual agitation over the actions of our governor, Greg Abbott, regarding sensible public health practices around the coronavirus pandemic. His latest action — an executive order “banning any entity in…
Music and change, blowin’ in the wind
Although travel is still restricted and we look at the outside world from our windows, my husband and I recently ventured out to the Northern California coast. Settling into our quiet upstairs room, with a balcony overlooking the magnificent Pacific…
COVID has dramatically changed the experience of global missionaries
American missionaries serving in far-away places continue to endure significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including limits on travel and in-person ministry, a scarcity of international volunteers and in some cases feelings of guilt for being vaccinated in communities…
Blind guy travels … and sings, and plays accordion, and makes Legos more accessible to the visually impaired
Ask Matthew Shifrin about the one thing he won’t do, and his answer is simple: Live alone. That’s because Shifrin is blind. “Things like living on my own — can it be done? Absolutely,” he said. “But does that mean…
The pandemic slowed down Mercer on Mission but a $10 million gift is powering the future
“Coddiwomple,” Craig McMahan says, pretty much describes Mercer on Mission as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a word that means to move purposely toward an unknown or vague destination, and we are certainly moving cautiously but confidently toward…
How travel and food break through barriers that divide us
One hot topic — for the church and Americans — is that we as a nation continue to struggle with diversity. Increasingly, folks of all races are moving next door, entering families through marriage or adoption, and sitting next to…