When I’m in my normal life in the country where I live, it’s easy to measure “success.” I’ve created measurable objectives that tell me if I’m doing the work that I believe I’m called to do. But when I’m outside
Spiritual Hunger
Before leaving the house, I make sure I have my debit card and I put a small bill in each front pocket. Living in a new city presents a number of new challenges. I’ve had beggars approach me several times
When the Bad Guys (seem to) Win
A young female aid worker is taken hostage and, a year and a half later, confirmed to be dead. A teenage boy from a Christian family converts to the religion of the majority and is applauded by local religious authorities.
Furious listening
As you may know, I’m working once again this summer in the Summer Institute of Linguistic’s Second Language Acquisition course. I’m working with 8 students along with a friend and speaker of Iraqi Arabic, Wafaa (who I met last year).
Do you hear what I hear?
I laid in bed, listening. I was tired enough to fall asleep right away, but I for the first time in months, I was really interested to hear what was going on outside. Crrrrrrr. Crrrrrrrr, klink. I heard the motor-operated
Three reasons to listen
Let’s get straight to the facts. No intro story, no attention-catching photo. Most of us need to become better listeners. I especially notice this when I’m with people who are out-of-the-ordinary… either really, really good listeners, or really, really bad