Immanuel.
God with us.
You broke into this world all those years ago, your glorious son coming as a humble babe in a humble stable in a humble town. Savior. Redeemer. The King. The fulfillment of promises spoken for thousands of years. Continue reading
I recently found myself writing a question over and over in my journal…the same question I had written right after I got home from Thailand…a question that has swirled through my head every day since…a question that usually goes unasked for fear no one would understand, for fear that I wouldn’t be able to ask it with humility and grace.
So I ask for your grace. Continue reading
As I sit in the dark of my room on this Christmas night…the single strand of Christmas lights strung around my window reminding me of the many December nights my brother and sister and I spent sleeping under the twinkling lights of our childhood Christmas tree…the clock in the corner of my computer screen reminding me of the 13 hour time difference between here and home that means all my American family and friends are just now waking up on Christmas morning…the shorts and tank top I’m wearing reminding me just how far away I am from all of them in their warm, cozy houses, safe from the chilly Midwest winter… Continue reading
Here at Pattaya Slum Ministries we’ve been focusing on Christmas all month, and it’s culminating this week in Christmas parties we’ve held in each of our slums…birthday parties for Jesus. So if you’d like, follow along on a photo tour of one of the parties, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood elf. 
You can call me JeeJee. (In case you forgot, JeeJee was my clown name, and it’s what most of the Thai people still call me. Strangely, I’m kinda starting to like it.) Continue reading
Today I’ve been mai sabai (not feeling well), so I’m going to call it an early night here on this side of the planet. I started working on a different blog post, but then I figured there’s nothing better than playing the thankful game when you need a good pick-me-up. So here we go. Play along!
I’m thankful for gluten-free Christmas cookies – my first baking endeavor in Thailand. Messy and delicious. The kids loved them.
(Please note that pink and lime green were the closest to Christmas colors we had on hand. Taste buds do not judge by color.) Continue reading
In honor of the Thanksgiving celebrations happening at households across America right now, I want to take a moment to be thankful on this side of the world.
(I shouldn’t even have to encourage you all to play along this time. You should be doing this around your dinner table at this very moment.)
I’m thankful that I began my Thanksgiving Day with a drum concert on the beach. Continue reading
It’s nearly 90 degrees in Pattaya today, which makes Christmas feel really far away. However, it is mid-November, which means a lot of you are likely gearing up for the Christmas season — decorating your homes, making gift lists and going shopping for those special somebodies. (I know I’m about to pull out my Celine Dion Christmas CD any day now.) And as you start thinking what you’re going to put under that beautifully decorated Christmas tree, I want to share about a way that you can make Christmas even more meaningful this year. Continue reading
