Just in case you happen to be in the Cayman Islands next weekend, Pastor Anyabwile has an event announcement: Peacemaking in the Cayman Islands You know. If you happen to be in the neighborhood. (Wouldn’t that be cool? ;)!) Totally slammed down by jetlag and about to head to the airport for Iowa …  Grateful beyond description for your prayers! Love, t  

So … my ONE suitcase with all of my teaching MATERIAL and CLOTHING; the “one thing” I “need” to serve in Iowa this weekend has gone missing. (I shocked even myself this morning when I actually used the words, “But I can’t survive without this suitcase!” Umm. Can you say James 4 monster want idol? Uh. Yeah. Not good.) So I’m repenting and praying and trying to laugh at everything being sort of a giant test case for whether I ACTUALLY believe any of the stuff I’m about to say: that God is with me and I don’t have to WORRY, right? The Immanuel Promise and not “trying to be…

The first ten+ hour flight felt interminable. Passport control and TSA the like were long, but the delays in Atlanta and MSP about put me ’round the brink. We didn’t even take off from Minnesota before our scheduled ARRIVAL time in Billings. I thought for sure the crew was going to time out, but thankfully they didn’t. Home but fried. Grateful! But scared too. Tomorrow promised to be the hardest day I’ve faced in a long, long time. And that was before they lost my luggage … Thanks in advance for any prayers you care to send my way!   I appreciate you so much— Your happy, but tired friend,…

Happily ensconced in Zurich with Brother Tom, having successfully navigated  the trains from Germany. Hooray! Will share more later…  

I’m sitting at track #4, really hoping it’s the RIGHT track #4 to take me to my connection to Zurich … And already missing the ladies of Trinity Reformed Church:   Praising God from Whom all blessings flow— Yours, Tara B.  

Great e-devotional by RZIM: Unseen But Real Aanother great Brian Croft post: Should a Pastor Preach or Clean Toilets?   And a story that you’ve probably seen by now but it was new to me and totally made me cry: Four Month Old (Miraculously!) Survives the Earthquake in Japan  

I was re-reading some of my notes from Paul Tripp’s, Broken Down House —Living Productively in a World Gone Bad, and thought they might bless you too: (Example of a little boy walking through loud, boisterous crowd of drunk men …) The little boy is at peace; at rest; hand tightly in father’s. “He knew his limits and he knew where security could be found. Surrounded by half-drunk guys several times his size, he was at rest.” Have you placed your hand in the huge and capable hands of your Heavenly Father? Have you realized that your life is played out in the middle of a rowdy and overstimulated crowd?…

See … I knew it would be this … or, well, I had a pretty good feeling it would … Diagnosis? FUO. Fever of unknown origin. Hooray for a contrast CT that is healthy and normal! I’m sure a lot of people would love to be able to say those words. But off to Europe go I with a seven year-old and a fever of 101+. Hmmmmm. I wonder what lesson I am going to be learning as this drags on? And just how will God use this to draw me closer to Him? I don’t understand the means but I trust in the end. So THANKS for all of…

I just finished loading a bunch of books onto our family’s new Kindle and can I just say, “WOW!” It’s amazing how easy it is to grab classic after classic. I can’t imagine what this tool must be like for missionary families … you can bring along an entire library in one tiny little leather-covered-package. Amazing. (I know. I know. I’m very behind the times with technology. It’s true! You can laugh at how slow I am. I don’t mind. I laugh at myself. 🙂 ) I’d appreciate your prayers today as I have to (have to!) finalize my speaker notes for my retreat this week. (Haven’t I been saying…

I would so appreciate your prayers today as I am working all day long to (hopefully) finalize my speaker notes for my new women’s retreat on FEAR. Nothing like studying, praying, and writing on fear to tempt me to be very, very afraid. So this morning as I jump in, I’m claiming the first lesson in Session 2 … Our Fears and the Immanuel Promise: God has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’ Hebrews 13:5-6 Oh, Lord, Your Word is true. I believe! Please help my unbelief.…