December 04, 2025
JOY
Transitions
Clans, descendants, kings, children. The lists go on and on. Day by day, I had slowly been reading my way through the Bible, beginning with Genesis. I had arrived at 1 Chronicles but excitement dwindled as I scanned the first chapter. It seemed dr...
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December 03, 2025
JOY
Serving joyfully
I engraved it on a necklace to wear around my neck. “Choose Joy.” The letters glitter when I look down at them. I’ve always loved the idea that I could choose joy in any circumstance, whether or not the “feeling” of happiness was happening to me a...
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December 02, 2025
JOY
Culture shock
Feeling known & understood
Isolation & loneliness
Serving joyfully
Every time I pushed my one-year-old’s stroller outside our home at Shi Fan Da Xue, I felt like we had become our own parade. My light skinned, blond-haired baby laughed and smiled as fascinated strangers pointed and waved. My son was such a magnet...
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December 01, 2025
JOY
Contentment
Serving joyfully
Discouragement
Praise
Bleary-eyed after an all-night flight from Bangkok, I waited in, okay, I admit it, grumbling misery, for the final leg of my trip. Schipol is not an awful airport, but I was tired and grumpy and had too much time to kill. Eventually, I headed to t...
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