This post was originally featured on the Christianity Today Women’s Blog–Her.meneutics. I am reposting today for those of you who missed it and because I spent all weekend in Gatlinburg for a surprise birthday weekend for my friend Ashley. SO MUCH FUN! Leave your comments below. “Wanna grab a burrito 2nite?” The melody of the Atlanta [...]

We sat in a circle of 200 college women and played “Never Have I Ever”. It was our sorority pledge retreat back in college. Never have I ever lied and told a guy I was a virgin! Never have I ever only had sex drunk! Never have I ever hooked up with two guys in [...]

We boarded a bus with chickens and headed into the unknown. Finny, Xin, Bobo and I were off on a great adventure—to a small town in China that might as well have been the edge of the planet. We armed ourselves with nothing more than prayer God would use us to share the Good News [...]

Single way older than you ever imagined? Failed marriage? Dead-end job? Shattered dreams? In 2008, I joined a missions organization and moved across the globe to the land of population overload: China. I envisioned a year that was challenging, but overall filled with joy and fun times with my team and our Chinese friends. But nothing [...]

Several people have asked me to recommend books so I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the best books I read in 2011. Also, since I work in a publishing house and hate to see the bookstores closing down–I’d like you to read more! In 2012, I have challenged myself to [...]

Three years ago around this time, I was living in China and embarked on my first 24 hour train ride with my friend “Sky” to experience an authentic Chinese Spring Festival. It would be safe to say that I did not have the faintest idea of what those weeks would hold! I miss China and [...]

Sunday night, Michael and I took a pot of chili over to our pre-martial counselors’ house. David and Connie Thomas have three kids and we couldn’t have hand-picked a better couple to walk us through our engagement season, ask hard questions, and learn from. They have a beautiful historic home and something about sitting in [...]

“Have you ever “met” someone online and felt an instant connection? Why yes and now he’s my Mr.” Molly Wizenburg writes in her NYT bestselling memoir A Homemade Life.  She fell in love with her husband over the internet. Upon finding her cooking blog, he emailed her expressing his love for cooking and enjoyment of her blog. [...]

I still remember the boys in my 5th grade class who made fun of me for my uniform skirt that was below my knees (apparently my mom shouldn’t have been the determining factor for ‘cool’), how no one wanted to ‘go out’ with me (i.e. make me mixed tapes of Hootie and the Blowfish and [...]

On September 18, 2011 a visit to the doctor revealed a shocking number when he stepped on the scale: 408 pounds. Blake Mitchamore had battled his weight the majority of his life, but this was an all-time high. At 5’9″ the extra 200+ pounds he carried was threatening to kill him. He couldn’t stand up for more [...]