As the holidays approach, thoughts of my family back home are never far from my mind. Special occasions rub the reality of living far away from home a bit raw this time of year. In light of that, I thought it appropriate to re-post this article I wrote last December. I reckon in many ways, [...]
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We walk up to the bar, and we slap a hand down. “Give me your best,” we tell the bartender. And we wait, expectant and hopeful. And the bartender mixes– the perfect concoction, no two drinks the same. This amount of bitter, this measure of sweet. A shot of strong, several shots of weak. A [...]
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The recent discussion we had here about the brutal cycle of hope and disappointment had me nodding my head as the conversation developed about dreams and the eventual crash-and-burning of those very ideals. And this early morning light finds me watching the farmers begin the process of harvesting the rice. Over the big white wall that [...]
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When I read Cody’s comment from last week’s post about the brutal cycle of hope and disappointment, I immediately emailed him and asked if I could share it as a post. This missionary family to Haiti has suffered blow after blow over the past few years, including the loss of their young daughter to cancer [...]
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I feel like we’re in an epic boxing match with God right now. And he’s the one most definitely winning. It’s as if we’re stuck living a bad version of Groundhog Day, the cycle of hope and disappointment playing out in a thousand different scenarios. It goes a bit like this: 1. We think God [...]
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Today was a “Go Home Day.” Matt and I have grown to classify some days this way because there are days, sometimes entire weeks, when we’d much rather just go home– back to our community, our culture, our families, our life. And maybe it’s because we haven’t hit even the two-year mark of living overseas, [...]
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I complain. I whine. I grumble about what could be better, what hasn’t worked out. I pout, I wallow. I hold onto grudges and pick specks out of other eyes. I look at this and want that, doubt the present and think-cynical about the future. I resent the work motherhood and marriage and ministry requires– [...]
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We were in our mid-twenties when we tasted utter failure in one of our first “ministry” jobs. It was a train-wreck on every level– landing our family of three into my parent’s basement with no money, no job, and a whole heckuvalot of hurt to muck through. Conflict sucks. Especially conflict in Christian ministry. And [...]
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“So the question is, when the credits roll in your life, are people going to think your story sucked?” – donmilleris.com There’s been a lot of talk about living a Good Story this past year. I’ve read Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years {and loved it}, which has been a catalyst for [...]
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I’m excited to be guest posting over at A Deeper Story today. It’s a collective site where Christian writers post honest pieces about how faith intersects with modern culture. They ask hard questions and tackle everything from nuclear weapons to eating disorders to issues in the church. I’d be honored if you’d click over their [...]
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Some Stats 12: years married, by Monday of next week. 13: times moved, by the same day. And the process of moving begins, again, for our family today. Finding the lost Connect Four chips under the couch. Dragging out the suitcases from storage and checking for spiders. Sorting clothes and art projects and broken legs [...]
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ALifeOverseas.com / LauraParkerBlog.com.
My family is living overseas in Thailand, where my husband is directing a Christian Humanitarian Foundation. This blog is the honest recording of our journey– squatty potties and all. 
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