In college, I piled into a 15-passenger van with a handful of undergrads to attend a weekend retreat in Pennsylvania, orchestrated to help those with a passion for missions to figure out what the next steps were. In fact, the weekend was actually called, “Next Steps.” My dad had died less than a year beforehand and an unquenchable drive to … Read More
My Favorite Books of 2014
2014 was a year packed full of probably the most reading I’ve accomplished in one year of my life ever. I even mentioned it in my Christmas letter this year because it was such a big deal for this eager, yet slow reader to have read 5,337 pages from 21 books! (Being assigned a ton of reading for a semester … Read More
A Letter of Purpose To My Son
Manuel Elias Meyer and His Purpose Written by his Mother, Emily Ann Pereira Meyer God knew you before you were even born. He ordered the number of your days. He gave purpose to each one of those days. He made you full of purpose for each one of those days. We knew about you before most … Read More
I’m Not OK, But God is Good.
I’ve been in the throws of intense grief, heartache, and uncertainty at least three times in my now 30 years. Losing my dad to cancer…unexpectedly. My husband losing his job…unexpectedly. Finding out I was pregnant and losing our baby, both…unexpectedly. During those types of times, do you know what is the absolute worst possible question someone can ask you? How are you … Read More
Red and Yellow, Black and White (Fri)day
I don’t know about you, but I’ve got more than a few difficult to shop for people on my Christmas gift list. These are people whom I really want to give something as a token of my affection for them. Yet, I’m always left in a quandary as to what to get them because they either have just about everything … Read More
And Lo{w}
A friend recently asked me what scripture verse was encouraging me the most lately. Without hesitating, I responded, “…And lo, I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20b, NKJV) I reasoned from my literary mind as to why this meant so much to me right now. I know this passage is what sums up the … Read More
But I…
I hardly know where to start. It’s not often that a writer is at a loss for words. Really, I’ve got many words, but just am not sure how to communicate what it is I need to write about because there is so much to tell and so much not to tell. This is going to be a five-part series. These words … Read More
But How? But God…
I hardly know where to start. It’s not often that a writer is at a loss for words. Really, I’ve got many words, but just am not sure how to communicate what it is I need to write about because there is so much to tell and so much not to tell. This is going to be a five-part series. These words … Read More
A Call to Prayer for the Persecuted Church
In recent weeks, American churches have received an inkling of what it means to really be persecuted for the sake of Christ. In Houston, a group of pastors were subpoenaed to submit their sermons in writing before they were preached so as to be sure they weren’t speaking counter-intuitively to the Mayor’s edicts. The constitutional right of Freedom of Speech … Read More
Come to Him for Them
You know all those beauty contestants who answer what they wish they could contribute to the world with a cliché, often ditzy sounding, “World Peace”? Their wish isn’t too far off from many of our hearts’ desires, these days, is it? It is impossible to turn on the news without hearing horrifying reports. It’s usually pretty bad, but right now, … Read More