#SquadGoals, #GodGoals
As we left the house this morning, I called out to my kids, “Let’s go, squad!” My teenager rolled her eyes, but yes, these are my people, my crew, my team. Depending on where you live, “squad” may be a word more commonly used to describe a group of rugby players, cheerleaders, or crime fighters.…
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Google Translate: Love
It is not easy for any child to transition to a new school and make new friends. It was especially difficult for Rafael, a boy who spoke only Spanish in an English-speaking school in California, USA. The 10-year-old boy often found himself sitting alone at lunch --until Amanda came along and broke the language barrier.…
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Flying Cars
As a kid, I dreamed of owning a flying car. While I am not quite sure those existed when I was a child, they definitely existed in my imagination. As I would watch planes fly by, my grandpa would always tell me, “I bet when you are old enough to drive, cars will fly!” I…
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When Dads and Daughters Hear God’s Voice
An eager participant chose a front-row seat for the Big Story training. Over the next three days, the truths he learned about God’s heart for the nations and the role of families in God’s mission began to transform his heart and shift his paradigms. Returning home, this Ethiopian husband and father began to pass on…
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A Mom Embraces God’s Mission
Meklit is a stay-at-home mother of three. She lives in a crowded urban neighborhood in Ethiopia. Meklit used to keep her family close, protected within the walls surrounding her home. She worried about the diseases her children might catch and the bad behavior they would learn if they spent time with the neighborhood kids, particularly…
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Foreigners to Friends
As a mother, my most important mission is my own children. What I did not realize was that it was also possible for me to be a part of God’s love for all humanity, in all of our beautiful, mystifying diversity — in my very own neighborhood. Nor did I ever expect that it would…
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Prayers of Hope for the Nations
In 1997, Hope Smith was 9 years old. She lived in Virginia, USA with her family. Hope was home-schooled by her mom. Like most teachers, Hope's mother gave her homework. Hope’s assignment was to learn about another country and write a report. Hope chose the country of Mongolia. She checked out books from the library…
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A Young Girl on a Big Journey
When I was a little girl, my dad was invited to speak at a mission school graduation in Cuba, a place with a language we did not speak, guerilla fighting in the hills, and a strict code of where we could and could not go --no cameras aimed at the governor’s palace and a strict…
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Turning Your Child’s Focus Inside Out
Coming from a large family, I know firsthand how skilled siblings are at comparing, especially when it‘s to their advantage. “His piece of cake is bigger than mine!”… “Why does she get to stay up later than I do?” As parents, you can use your children’s natural tendency to pick up on differences to foster…
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What is a Mission-Minded Child?
In our homes, “world missions” should be more than just an optional afterthought to teach our children. Let’s raise the next generation to have a passion for God’s Great Commission. As Hudson Taylor, famous missionary to China, often said, “The Great Commission is not an option to consider, it’s a command to obey.” What is a…