Who Am I? More than a decade ago, when Nick and I first began researching the possibility of establishing an anti-trafficking organization, we were given a terminal prognosis: impossible. The feasibility study from the consultants we’d hired used that word ten times in their report. Ten times. And opening an office in Thessaloniki? It was…
Expect the Unexpected
Introduction Kirk and Ashleigh were in their late twenties and already knew the heartbreak of bad news. After three years of tests, procedures, and tears, they sat with the doctor as he explained that they would not be able to conceive. They had reached the end of their medical options. They would have to adjust…
When the Unexpected Betrays
Forgiving Freely Loss is the uninvited door that extends us an unexpected invitation to unimaginable possibilities. — Craig D. Jonesborough I once had a dear friend whom I loved wholeheartedly and with whom I shared so many fun times. We had endless heart-to-heart talks about God, ministry, life, family, fashion, movies, books, food, and of…
A Prayer of Trust
As you move forward embracing all the unexpected adventures God has for you, I invite you to pray the following prayer. Pray it in faith, boldly, courageously, and with a passionate love for Jesus. Pray it with a thankful heart for all He has placed inside of you and all He wants to do through…
Praying When the Unexpected Disillusions and Hope Wanes
Hope Is an Act of Defiance I don’t know where your hope is struggling. Maybe your beleaguered hope is for… A loved one to be saved A child to come home A marriage to be restored Your body to be healed Your finances to be restored Your career to be revived A home of your…
When the Unexpected Interrupts
Living Expectantly True stability results when presumed order and presumed disorder are balanced. A truly stable system expects the unexpected, is prepared to be disrupted, waits to be transformed. ~ Tom Robbins “Chris, you have cancer.” Not quite the words I was expecting to hear as I was unpacking, having arrived in Sydney just two…
When the Unexpected Requires Risk
Stretching Beyond It’s strange how new and unexpected conditions bring out unguessed ability to meet them. —Edgar Rice Burroughs Keep Your Eyes on Hebron Hebron was a desert region rich with history and natural resources, including an abundant water supply. Great men and women of faith had lived there — and been buried there. Abraham…
You’re Invited to the Unexpected OBS!
You are good and what You do is good; teach me Your decrees. — Psalm 119:68 I believe with all my heart that it’s possible for every Christian to learn how to live with a faith so confident in a good God that it can’t be shaken — even when the ground underneath is giving…
An Invitation to the Unexpected
An Invitation to the Unexpected To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect. – Oscar Wilde For my fiftieth birthday, Nick gave me the greatest gift ever. He invited 150 of our dearest friends to a huge celebration he’d planned for a year. It was a dinner cruise with wonderful food, dancing, a beautiful cake,…
Fix Your Eyes on Jesus – Focus on Who Christ Is In You!
The Bible is full of ordinary people whom God called to His divine relay. Which of them, in their power, their resources, or their ways had what was required to do what God called them to do? Not one. Moses was told to lead his people from slavery, then was caught between Pharaoh’s chariots and the Red Sea.…