A fun, new episode of my podcast

Episode 20--The Secret Life of Boys

Small children aren't the first thing to pop into your head when you think of cross-cultural missions. Yet, for many missionaries, raising families in foreign contexts is part of God's plan. In this episode, I share some entertaining stories about my two pre-school boys.

Stay tuned for my next episode. I'll be changing up my format a bit for year two (yes, I've been at this over a year now!), and I think you'll like the differences.

A relevant quote

I found this quote in a book I've been reading called Managing Transitions by William Bridges. I thought of my first book (and this website) immediately.

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another.
Anatole France, French writer

Book cover final

I shared the original photo idea for my upcoming book back in November. Here's what happened when graphic artist Jessica Garcia and my wife Heather got a hold of it. Of course, you're looking at ALL of the art--front, spine, and back.

Let me know what you think!

In hundreds of classrooms at once?

I'm very familiar with standing in front of a class, but now I might be in front of hundreds of classrooms at once.

This fall, ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) published a new textbook that focuses on missions. It's a one-semester high school Bible course and it features a student textbook and a student journal. The folks at ACSI have read my book All That You Can't Leave Behind and chose a chapter to feature in the student journal portion of the curriculum. They sent me a copy of the book, called Missio Dei (Latin for "The Mission of God"), and I was impressed by the interesting perspective of the units and the trendy design of the books. I highly recommend Missio Dei if you want "outside the box" teaching for your high schoolers.

Check out the link to the textbook MIssio Dei

I'll be home for Christmas

While I am lucky enough to be home for Christmas this year due to home assignment, most years missionaries spend out on the field during the holidays. This episode talks about the reverse culture shock I experienced during our first Christmas in America after two in Africa.

Episode 19

The Great American Novel

Are you one of a million Americans who dreams of writing a book someday? Are you serious enough to make your dream a reality? If so, check out this podcast about the process I went through.

Episode 18

New book cover photo

This is a potential photo for my upcoming book Winter Spring Summer Fall: Living and Lasting as a Missionary. The three teenagers are my cousins in Pottstown, PA, and the photographer is my uncle Chris. His company is called Showstopper Photography.

Jessica Garcia, a graphic designer in San Diego, is designing the cover.

Let me know what you think!