“What on earth has happened to 2020?” I thought as I hung laundry on our balcony. At the end of December, after a particularly intense year full of travel, sickness, family crisis and grief, I’d told Jeremy that I was praying and hoping for an awesomely NORMAL year in 2020. #ohdearbetsy, that has NOT happened. …
A Soft Strength – Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
I wrote about stepping outside your comfort zone a few years ago and it was originally published on Grit & Virtue for International Women’s Day. This year, I thought I’d republish here for you. Learning to keep a soft strength while also learning to step outside your comfort zone, do big things for God and …
How to Return, Recover and Rebound
There are moments in our lives for building resilience in ways we never expected or knew we needed. Moments that remind us to trust, hope and move forward in faith. One such moment happened on our flight from West Africa to Michigan at the end of our first term overseas. We only had about 20 …
Unexpected Sacrifices
When I think of the word sacrifice, I picture many different things. I see Abraham with his knife raised obediently over his son. I can picture a long line of people waiting for a priest as he makes preparations to offer the next lamb on their behalf. I see Elijah who called down fire from …
Not Your Average Headache
The topic of intimacy in married life is not the easiest thing to talk about let alone write up a whole post and throw it on the world wide web for all to see. We may joke about that side of married life with a sister-in-law or whisper about our questions with a friend while …
When You Are Still Waiting
I heard an overseas friend recently say, “Waiting is just part of it all.” But what do you do on the days when you are still waiting? I found myself begrudgingly nodding my head to her statement. I recognized the truth of her words as they resonated deep with my soul. The wait is a …
Learning to Capture Joyful, Fluffy Moments
Learning to capture joyful moments, or capture the fluffy moments, in overseas life can be challenging. Stopping, smiling and enjoying the simple joys can quickly get lost in the stress, busyness and unknowns of the passing hours. Yet, each day is an opportunity to capture joyful moments, to see what God is doing around us …
Coming to the End of Me
Coming to the end of me has been a long, beautiful, terrible, difficult journey. Overseas life continues to bring me to this place of surrender, laying down the me I thought I was and allowing Jesus a chance to mold a new creation. I wrote a post called “The End of Me” for Velvet Ashes. …
How to Make New Lists Overseas
You know how much I love a good list. I can make lists for anything. Right now, there are two notebooks and two sticky note pads with lists on them sitting on the desk next to me. I have apps on my phone for list making and programs to keep track of this or that. …