13 Hours of Rain

Dear God, It is the Eve of a New Year. In this moment, I feel thankful. This year has been intense. You placed me on a steeper-than-usual learning curve over the course of twelve months. Overall, it has been good. Very good. Lonely at times. But full of rich lessons. I started off this year by reading Radical by David Platt, and was convicted of the North American drive to create heaven on earth instead of building the Kingdom of God. The book propelled me to shift my ministry focus from a thriving group of women who excel in investing in our local community to the Missions Committee, a group of two people. Lord, it has been an enlightening (and lonely) experience. Thank you that my husband agreed to partner with me this year. We discovered a wonderful elderly couple on the committee who are dedicated to the exciting work occurring overseas through various Mennonite based organizations. Their zeal for Missions is inspiring! May you continue to bless them. Yet, as I mentione...

Our Family For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen! Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT

Dear God, Right now, the world that my children know is safe. The main adults in their life love them. Their basic physical needs of food, water, clothing, and shelter are met in abundance. And the extent of violence they experience is a sibling shoving match over Duplo . I wish life was this simple and serene. Lately, I have been saddened by the recent act of senseless, insane violence against the most vulnerable in our society. At moments, I freeze with fear and tremble, "That could have been my daughter or my son." I hesitate at my overall excitement of letting my first born, my daughter, climb the steps of a castle-type school to experience new horizons of learning. I wonder, "Will she be safe? Will she survive? Who will protect her?" A few nights ago, I read Hansel and Gretel to my daughter. Evil was present in the story through a mean step-mother and wicked children-eating witch (hmmmm, not the best story to read before bedti...

Dear Readers, Check out my 13th and last Family Friday post at Our Journey Home . Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Rain

Cuddling with Little J. Dear Kiddos, One of my favourite experiences in life is walking through a jetway and boarding a plane destined to some faraway location. I still experience kid-like excitement over rolling carry-on baggage behind me, hearing the high pitched whirl of engines, and breathing air tinged with the smell of jet fuel. I smile almost every time! Just a couple of days ago, I returned from a weeklong visit with my sister (your Mausi*) and her family in the States. It was a delight to be airborne once again and even more refreshing to spend some quality time with my sister, her husband, and their three sweet boys. Yes, it was indeed an honour to cuddle the littlest boy, your newest cousin, while he is still an infant. During my time there, many a thought scintillated my psyche. Here are a couple. On Jetways. I really hope that both of you have a chance to travel internationally. I have a dream that someday, 8 - 10 years from now, your Daddy and I...

Dear Children, I was scared into the Kingdom. At the age of six, I sat in church, doodling on my Sunday School papers when the preacher got to me. "You are a sinner." Yup, I'd agree. "You are heading to Hell," came the fiery conclusion.  Uh-oh! Don't want to go there. Thus, THE "Prayer" was said. And right there and then, I was officially "Born-Again." I don't doubt my conversion experience. That moment was life changing for me. My memories of that time are vivid! However, I kind of wish I wasn't scared into believing. The reason for my regret is I think this experience as well as a lot of theology I was taught as a kid contributed to my image of a God hell-bent on punishing His creation. Grace was a foreign concept. Now kids, let me set the record straight. I am not denying that the concept of Hell exists (i.e. separation from God). I just question how it physically looks like. But this post isn't about dissecting the...

Dear Children, Sometimes I wonder how you will turn out, let's say, twenty years from now. Will you be fighting over toys or whacking each other to prove a point? I sincerely hope not! Instead, I earnestly pray that you will HONOR each other. Your Daddy and I are reading a book together entitled, "Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes... in you and your kids!" by Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller. It is a parenting book, one of the few parenting books – wait a minute – the ONLY parenting book that we as your parents are attempting to read together. There are many parenting resources out there, found in numerous self-help aisles, websites, and magazines. And every parenting unit seems to have its own style. Sometimes it can be very overwhelming to figure out WHAT to do! Anyway, last spring one of my friends came to visit me. She brought her four children along. And it was fascinating to see how her kids interacted with each other. There were moments...