I’ve been doing a lot of reading about World War II lately — such a unique, sorrowful and fascinating time. In honor of Memorial Day, here is a speech from Franklin D.  Roosevelt, a national prayer for the execution of D-Day in 1944 that rings just as true now as it did more than 70 years ago:

Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest — until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war. Continue reading…

After a lot of thought, I have decided there are 20 Types of People You Meet on Social Media.

Call this post “The People of Facebook” if you will…

I’m sure you may recognize some of the characters in people you know:

PhotoMom – The person who documents every.  minute. in the life of their kids or pets.

RudieFoodie – The person who posts something they’re eating at least once per day.

Mr. Hashtag – #toomanyhashtags #hashtagstonowhere #hashtagsthatareridiculouslylong #youstopreadingafteracertainpoint
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This week I was able to visit a friend in one of my favorite cities, Washington D.C.

Spring in D.C. is gorgeous!

Here are some photos from the trip:

Washington Monument

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Today’s thought for the day is an excerpt from Walking With God, my favorite John Eldredge book:

We are created to enjoy life. But we end up worshiping the gift instead of the Giver. We seek for life and look to God as our assistant in the endeavor. We are far more upset when things go wrong than we ever are when we’re not close to God….Our first reaction is usually to get angry with him, which only serves to make the point. Don’t you hear people say, “Why did God let this happen?” far more than you hear them say, “Why aren’t I more fully given over to God?”

We see God as a means to an end rather than the end itself. God as the assistant to our life versus God as our life. We don’t see the process of our life as coming to the place where we are fully his and he is our all. And so we are surprised by the course of events.  Continue reading…

Spring break is here — time for some spring reading! Having written a book about missions, I’m often asked for other book recommendations. For those of you interested in missions or the Christian culture around the world, here are my Top 10 picks:

1. End of the Spear by Steve Saint.  Non-fiction. One of my favorite books, this is the fantastic true story of  a boy whose missionary father was killed by a violent South American tribe. As an adult, Saint goes back to live with the tribe and brings his family.

2. The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun. Non-fiction. One of the most sensational stories I’ve ever heard, this book chronicles the life of Brother Yun, a Chinese house church leader.

3. Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose. Non-fiction. Set during World War II, this book tells the story of a missionary wife separated from her husband in New Guinea. Taken prisoner by the Japanese, her story of survival is remarkable.

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Today’s article of the week is a fantastic post by Donald Miller: Why 20% of People Will Never Like You, or rather, “Why 20% of People Will Criticize Everything.”

Also called the Pareto Principle, Miller explains:

About 80% of your health problems are likely being caused by only 20% of what you eat. Or 80% of your companies profit is coming from 20% of its products. Or 80% of your relational frustrations are being caused by 20% of your relationships.

With regard to creativity or relationships, “Just know, if you hit it out of the park, there will still be 20% of the population noticing your flaws,” he says.

Rather than being depressing, Don’s post is an invitation to live boldly, without being a slave to everyone’s good opinion — something we all could use a little more of.

You can read the full article here.

Happy Friday!

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this perhaps so that men would seek him and perhaps find him, though he is not far from each one of us.”

Happy Easter
Acts 17: 24-26

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words…

For today’s post, here are some pictures from Coffee, Tea and Holy Water!

Thy word is a lamp to my feet

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Today’s article of the week is a great post from Relevant magazine, The Most Ignored Commandment by Nancy Sleeth.

The most-ignored commandment is…you guessed it. Keeping the Sabbath.

Oh, not what you were expecting?

“Our generation is the first in 2,000 years of church history that is on the go 24/7. But this experiment in Sabbath-less living is taking a huge toll…The result? Nonstop stress,” Sleeth writes.

The article gets five stars for hitting the nail on the head:

“Scholars have argued for centuries about how to define rest. Here’s a simple definition: decide what work is for you and don’t do it on your Sabbath,” Sleeth says. “For people engaged in sedentary work during the week, puttering around in the garden on the Sabbath might be restful. For people who do manual labor, holy rest might mean taking a nap.”

I made the resolution to personally keep a Sabbath years ago, and Sunday is now my favorite day of the week.

You can read the full article here.

Happy Friday!

It’s finally out! Coffee, Tea and Holy Water was released last week — now available wherever books are sold!

Available in hardback, paperback and e-book. For convenience, you can get it from a variety of online retailers: Continue reading…