Letters, stories, and other stuff
132 stories
May 16, 2009
(I started this entry last week on Mother's Day. But the week's flying, and a few bad days with our internet connection have delayed it being posted. But I think it's worth it even a week late.) I found Renee just the other day sitting on…
Continue readingMay 1, 2009 · Essay
Andy, in the meanwhile, wove a web of wires connecting our three headsets over a voice activated intercom, and then wired in an iPod and a Grisham “book on tape”. We soared around puffy fair-weather cumulus, and occasionally around a small…
Continue readingApr 15, 2009
Some months ago the kids begged us for a "special night" together. So we pushed back the couch and laid their sleeping bags on the living room floor. Then we all crammed close to one-another watching a movie and eating snacks. For our…
Continue readingApr 12, 2009
For more than a decade, our lives have been packed and repacked, re-arranged and uprooted, with the help of a humble plastic box known as the "Action Packer." On a recent home-assignment, I felt some kind of tribute to the container was…
Continue readingMar 13, 2009
We're back "home"--rolled into NY a few days later than planned. Most of the family caught the flu toward the end of the trip, and it seemed wise to extend our stay in Virginia to recover and make up for some lost days. They were sunny and…
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Jan 30, 2009
Hard to believe we've been doing this for twelve years... the missionary road trip. Back in 1997 we drove Renee's little red Cavalier over ten thousand miles on our first "deputation" trip—raising up our support before the big move to…
Continue readingDec 27, 2008
It's been seven years since we've been home for Christmas. And even though we caught some February snow two furloughs ago, Zach never remembered it. So we all had a blast this past week when eight inches piled up outside our window. We…
Continue readingOct 21, 2008
I squandered my weekend. I had intended to tackle that overdue prayer letter among other things. This Saturday was supposed to get me further ahead, but my best-laid plans went up against Zach's puppy-dog eyes. Then Renee started singing a…
Continue readingSep 30, 2008
I have on several occasions tried (started and stopped more than once) to figure out what sort of things to write here. Here in this blog which looks altogether the same. In this world which looks altogether different to me since a month…
Continue readingAug 30, 2008
On Friday we gathered for a memorial service for dad. It was simply amazing. A slice of heaven. I have spent the past two days hearing people tell me what kind of man he was. How he helped their marriage or their wayward son, or even how…
Continue readingAug 28, 2008
Dad passed away on Monday; not unexpectedly, but sooner than we thought. I was sleeping at the time, while Renee kept watch over him. She phoned me to tell the sad news. And her voice revealed a tenderness and awe in the moment; Dad just…
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Aug 12, 2008
I remember a night years ago when I woke up to the sound of a little whimper outside our bedroom door. I recognized it instantly. Amelia was sick. She had probably picked up another amoeba or something – an easy thing to do out there in…
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