For this last post of 2017 here on A Life Overseas I thought I’d take a look back over my almost 40 posts here in the last five years and see if there was one that I felt nudged to re-vamp or rerun. Why a rerun? Well, the kids and I have been sick here […]
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One summer when I was in college, I worked at a Salvation Army day camp. We kept the kids busy with lots of activities, lots of playing, lots of singing, lots of eating, and lots of Bible lessons. During one of the teaching times on the lawn, one of the campers, a boy of about […]
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By Anthony Sytsma A couple months ago, to my wife’s dismay, I found myself rolling down the window of our vehicle and yelling at the driver of a taxi. It was during a traffic jam, and he had cut into my lane after passing vehicles on the shoulder and had then forced me into the […]
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As we prepared to go overseas as missionaries, people often asked us: “Why Taiwan?” It was a good question. Out of the whole wide world, how did we choose to serve in Taiwan? These people may not have realized it when they asked, but as Christians—both missionaries and senders—we’ve built up a set of expectations […]
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Blah. Blah. Blah. That was my gut reaction when I got this challenge recently. Identify three things that you are thankful for and start every day focused on them. See what happens. In fairness to me — I come from a place where “thankfulness” has been sugar-coated, watered down, sucked dry and beaten to death. A place where “count your blessings” […]
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This summer, The Atlantic published a fascinating article called Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation? I encourage every parent, especially of tweens and teens, to read it and discuss it with your children. I read the article with a particular mindset, that of a parent raising teenagers who also are Third Culture Kids. I wondered, […]
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Today I’m excited to talk with Tanya Marlow author of Those Who Wait: Finding God In Disappointment, Doubt, And Delay. Years ago Tanya asked me to guest post for her God and Suffering series. (That series, by the way, is a gold mine.) Over the years, Tanya and I have become friends, real friends. We’ve never met […]
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Moving overseas, I thought trusting Jesus and obeying what he asked me to do would get me through thick and thin. I’d been through some major tough stressy stuff in my pre-overseas life, and leaning hard into my bible study and prayer led me through. So I should be good, right? I’d like to give […]
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by Andrea Sears Craig Thompson published a very informative article here at A Life Overseas in July about studies that have attempted to discover the primary reasons that missionaries return to their home countries. What really struck me in that article was that: The research is dated, as much has changed on the mission field in […]
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My father died two weeks ago. It was not a tragic death, except as all death in our broken world can feel tragic; his life was rich and full, lived across oceans and continents. He was a veteran missionary and pastor who loved God, his family, the Church, and people in general. As I think […]
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Jesus talked quite a bit about the Kingdom of Heaven and its King. Jesus told us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like: Seeds, broadcast into a field Yeast in a loaf of bread A treasure, hidden in a field A pearl of great price A net full of fish. (Matthew 13) Jesus told us […]
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You have walked with God in this place a long time, and He has walked with you. He has been beside you and inside you this whole time. The same Spirit remains in you and with you in your new place. This place has changed you, and you have changed this place. Do not be […]
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