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Dirty Feet
Back then, I clawed the dramatic and the exotic. Back there, I painted the ideal and clung to the dream. Back then, I thought serving the poor in a a foreign land would sprout angel’s wings on my own three kids and would somehow make me an inspirational Mother-Theresa-type. But, I am finding that, right [...]
Continue reading...When You Become an Awful Person
6. September 2010
“What happens when trying to follow Jesus turns you into an awful person?” This was the honest question Matt and I talked about last night on our downstairs couch, in the 15 minute-window we had where the kids were asleep and we had the energy to talk about the important. It was a question born [...]
Continue reading...Question {for God}
5. September 2010
Today’s question is a good one. Perhaps my all-time favorite. Just imagine you are sitting in the corner of a quiet cafe with God himself. And you have the chance to ask him Anything. At. All. And He promises to answer. What would you want to know? Would it be about why that happened to [...]
Continue reading...Confessions of Today
3. September 2010
Today I expected too much of my children. I swore in my head when my toddler dripped spaghetti, and then I swore out loud when I dropped the keys in the dirt. Today I rolled my eyes when a Thai woman asked to photo our {sweaty, tired} blonde family. And then I smiled-plastic, and I [...]
Continue reading...The Excuse
2. September 2010
Typos that don’t get fixed. Comments that go unanswered. Videos that only half-upload. Unexplained absences. This is the fallout from attempting to blog consistently from rice fields. Internet is a commodity I have learned not to count on in this life overseas. Wireless and speed have become smaller concerns in light of just having anything, [...]
Continue reading...Monday’s Question {Beauty. Right. There.}
30. August 2010
So, stop. Right now. Look Around. Pause. Notice. In the backyard. Outside the window. OR Think about your drive home from work today. Imagine. Remember. In the line-of-sight. Outside the car. How will your eyes feast on beauty today? Because there is always, always beauty worth noticing. “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every bush [...]
Continue reading...Dream in Blue Ink
28. August 2010
I gave the journal to my son to fill with long-legged stick-figures in blue crayon (his favorite). We had carried around the empty book for years, and as we were packing during our recent move to Thailand, somehow the blank journal got moved from the dusty box in the storage room to the crammed-to-the-max suitcases [...]
Continue reading...Latitude 18
27. August 2010
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Continue reading...Two Men and a Swimming Pool
25. August 2010
I’ve watched two men struggle to keep afloat. My little man, Cade, is barely a whole handful of years. Last week, we logged countless pool hours during our vacation to Pattaya in Southern Thailand. And Cade was determined to swim. In the deep end. He desperately wanted the freedom to be a contender in the [...]
Continue reading...Practically Speaking {Coffee Table Toy}
23. August 2010
Boredom in the midst of plethora. That’s the story around these parts all too often. Somehow the equation goes a little like this: 3 small children + 8 hrs. at home + infinite toys = “Mom, we don’t have anything to do.” Somehow when the matchbox cars and Connect Four game are hidden in the [...]
Continue reading...Shut. Up.
22. August 2010
“Language is power.” -Matt in a conversation about how vulnerable we feel because of our current language barrier “Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” – book of James, Bible Thailand is teaching me to shut-up. Literally, when you can’t speak {very much of} the language, you quickly learn to [...]
Continue reading...Post-Vacay
19. August 2010
“Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?” “So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.” – selected verses from psalm 126, 127 {the Message} I unpack the suitcases and shake out the sand. I run to the store and stock up on veggies, [...]
Continue reading...Over at RELEVANT {on Prostitution}
18. August 2010
When it rains, it pours. Looks like all of my guest postings happened to fall on the same week. Go figure. This time, though, I have written something a bit different. More factual. More “real-article-ish.” I would love for you to take a second and go read it. It gives a better overview of the [...]
Continue reading...Monday’s Question {Dads}
18. August 2010
It is no small thing for a man to marry a woman who already has children. Especially when there are four of them. As many of you already know, my natural father died from cancer when I was seven years old. A few years later, my mom remarried, and the name “Dad” re-entered our worlds [...]
Continue reading...Knowledge of Pattaya
15. August 2010
We found ourselves there by accident. By miscommunication. And ignorance. And impulsively hopping off the taxi-truck too early. We thought we were headed to a pedestrian walking street, with ice cream shops and t-shirts for tourists. But one wrong alley later, Matt and I found ourselves with our three little children in the heart of [...]
Continue reading...A Birthday (Over at {In}Courage)
14. August 2010
If you are visiting Life Overseas from {In}Courage, WELCOME. In a spinning world, thank you for visiting this corner of the web to glimpse into a life on Latitude 18, raising kids and loving orphans. Feel free to subscribe to this blog and have posts sent automatically to your email or to be read in [...]
Continue reading...Not Sellin’ Jesus
11. August 2010
The following is a new page that will remain as a link at the top of the site. Just didn’t want ya to miss it . . . To my friends of varying faith journeys as well as to my church-going-friends, both kind enough to visit me (and Matt) here, I understand I often write a [...]
Continue reading...Blind Man
10. August 2010
We see him most every week we visit the market on a particular corner of Chiang Mai. Shuffling. Begging. Fingers banging keyboard. Blind. And I wrote an article about what this certain blind man has taught our entire family which is featured over at Emily’s site, Chatting at the Sky. I’d be honored if you [...]
Continue reading...Monday’s Question {ANGRY}
9. August 2010
So we’ve been talking a bit about ANGER around these parts lately, and I’m wondering What are some things that make you angry? Don’t think too hard about your answer. Just respond honestly. And the list can be as long as you like. COMMENT here. Or SUBSCRIBE (to get Life Overseas automatically sent to your [...]
Continue reading...Community
7. August 2010
Take it from someone who doesn’t have much of it right now, Community is more important than you think. Whether you call it family or sorority sisters or a small group, community is a tightly-knit team, maybe without the matching jerseys. Community means friends who know your Story and can hand it back to you [...]
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WELCOME
My family is currently living overseas in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where my husband is directing a Christian Orphanage for girls. This blog is the honest recording of our journey. Spiritual. Authentic. Funny. Global. Welcome to a Life Overseas.
Video from the Field
THREE MONTHS in THIRTY SECONDS
Click here to view a powerful snapshot of our life and work in Thailand, thus far.
Places I'm Involved
Breanna's House of Joy and Joy to the World Outreach.
Loving Orphans and Equipping Leaders in Southeast Asia.
Destined Traveler.
Our Work in Thailand, Loving Orphans and Mentoring Students.
Tattered Couch.
Jesus-Spirituality. Outside Church Walls.
- Destined to Move, Again.
- Angry
- When You Become an Awful Person
- Beauty: Lessons From a Skinnier Woman
- Crappy Missionary
- Kelly @ Love Well: Man, I get this. I get it way down in my gut. ...
- Heather: Self pity is my greatest challenge. Having two sic...
- Laura: Wow--you definitely have a load, my friend. There...
- Tamara: OH! Love this post (yes, there is awfullness RIGH...
- Brenda Ragan: Dearest, When the awful in us is revealed, we see...
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8. September 2010
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