Newspaper headlines all over the world recently featured an amazing answer to prayer: my friend Andrew Brunson was freed from imprisonment in Turkey. My family cried tears of relief when this innocent pastor, persecuted for his faith, went free on October 12, 2018. What no newspaper could document was the anguish of prayer that seemingly went unanswered for two years. My family and I served in Turkey for 16 years, and Andrew’s case struck a chord with us because we lived in the same city. We also knew the nightmare our friend was living could have just as easily happened to us. We could hardly believe it when we first received news of Andrew’s arrest in October, 2016. We prayed each day, confident that God would free an innocent man. Yet the situation worsened rather than improving. Continue Reading
Perfecting Parenting Through Prayer
I wholeheartedly believe prayer is the difference between imperfect parenting and perfecting parenting. Because at the end of the day, we all fall short in the parenting department. And that’s okay! We are never expected to be perfect parents. In this series, we’ve touched on just a few aspects of parenting in hope to ensure our children become who God created them to be. From leading them toward their bent, stepping up as the keeper of their dreams, cultivating both a confident and humble heart in them, and choosing to embrace great expectations through the entire journey. I feel as though I’ve saved the best for last...the core truth of prayer as the agent which fuels all of parenting. It's the one truth I’ve tried to weave throughout each week. That yes, as parents, we are Continue Reading