My attempt to be an authentic woman in an inauthentic world
Posted in 2025, Africa, Faith, Grace, Gratitude, Hope, Life, Transition, Trust, missions on Nov 6th, 2025
Hot and dry. A thick orangey-red haze coated the landscape as I stepped out of the Lilongwe International Airport. I pushed the heavy cart loaded with maybe three or four suitcases and a large trunk wrapped with luggage straps to keep them from busting open. Brooklyn and Jackson, my siblings, pushed their own carts piled [...]
For just a moment, let’s think about Joseph the Dreamer.
We find his story in the book of Genesis. Anyone who grew up going to church will be quite up to speed with this story. I can still see the flannel graph pictures of Joseph surrounded by bales of wheat bowing in his direction during those [...]
Posted in Current Events, Faith, Life, Ministry, missions on Jun 9th, 2024
The Comrades Marathon
Today, over 20,000 individuals from all over the world have converged upon Durban, South Africa, to participate in the prestigious Comrades Marathon.
The race was conceptualized by a South African World War I veteran, Vic Clapham. After enduring a 27,000 kilometer walk through German, East Africa—witnessing the physical and mental challenges that he and [...]
Posted in 2023, Faith, Grace, Life, Remain, Spirit-Filled Life, Transition, Trust, missions on Mar 14th, 2023
When God starts chopping away at the branches of my life, I can’t say that I am full of joyful surrender. I typically resist the spiritual machete that starts swinging in my direction. I don’t want it. “God, you can keep your machete to yourself. I’ll happily live with overgrown branches and dead limbs.” But [...]
Posted in 2023, Grace, Life, Ministry, missions on Feb 28th, 2023
Our daughter, Sydney, would often get completely stressed out when learning something new at school. She lived with this misguided perception that she needed to be capable of operating in a skill, whether in math or language arts, before the material had been presented. She would feel anxious and place unnecessary pressure on herself when [...]
Posted in 2023, Faith, Grace, Life, Marriage, Ministry, Motherhood, Spirit-Filled Life, missions on Feb 23rd, 2023
The Least.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I [...]
Posted in 2023, Africa, Faith, Grace, Gratitude, Hope, Life, Marriage, Ministry, Motherhood, Peace, Spirit-Filled Life, missions on Feb 21st, 2023
Self-care in a season of chaos.
When we moved to South Africa, I had come out of a very challenging season in Malawi. It was hard on all fronts – from helping our children transition, to navigating life in a foreign country, the ever-precarious visa process, the insurgence of Covid-19, to understanding a new organization [...]
Posted in 2023, Africa, Grace, Life, Marriage, Ministry, Motherhood, missions on Feb 7th, 2023
How to Transition Well in a Season of Chaos
1. Give your people space to speak up and process.
Silence is not always a good sign. We often misread silent cooperation as a sign of compliance and agreement, when, in fact, what is going on internally is the complete opposite. The silent follower will eventually silently walk [...]
Posted in 2023, Faith, Grace, Life, Ministry, Motherhood, Spirit-Filled Life, Trust, missions on Jan 1st, 2023
Recalibrate.
New year. New word. New focus.
This year my word is “Recalibrate”.
“Recalibrate” is not a word that I particularly like. It doesn’t immediately jump out to me or inspire me. It’s the kind of word that Joel would choose, or my dad. To me, it sounds very masculine, not very poetic (and I love poetic words!).
Still, [...]
Posted in 2022, Faith, Forgiveness, Grace, Gratitude, Life, Ministry, Spirit-Filled Life, missions on Nov 16th, 2022
Tim Keller likens our typical Christian approach to forgiveness as a type of “therapeutically- motivated culture” of forgiveness. We forgive in order to feel better – to attain inner peace – and so to also ensure forgiveness from God. Without embracing the reality of what forgiveness costs, we tend to take action for personal relief, [...]
Welcome to my blog. My name is Amy, and I wear a lot of different hats: wife, mother, daughter, sister, missionary, teacher, friend...and the list goes on. Life is a balancing act, and one I do not excel at. I find that each new season brings about more opportunities to learn, grow and allow God to continue the refining work in me. The pages of this blog are a glimpse into the lessons I am learning and the journey I am taking. I hope you enjoy!