Role Models

Avie Carlisle, Cindy Megginson, Lillian Froude, Grace Mutzabaugh.

I had the deep privilege of growing up with these women at a formative time in my life. They have this in common: loving Jesus, being single, doing adventurous kingdom work. And by adventurous, I mean foreign countries, dangerous diseases, lengthy travel, oppressive governments, ground breaking, Bible smuggling, church planting.

As a young teenager, I was very unsure what it meant to be a woman, but these women gave me hope that whatever it meant it could be cool. It could be cool and it wasn't dependent on being married. And it could be cool even though or because it was Jesus centered.

Two of these saints have passed away; the other two forge on. God bless them all.

Sweet memories

I recently made a ginger vinaigrette dressing and the tangy flavors reminded me of eating crab with my mother.

Living by the Chesapeake Bay, it was easy to get a bushel of live Atlantic blue crab. Sometimes mom would go out and buy the crab, sometimes we would catch them ourselves, and sometimes friends would give them to us. When the crab made it to our kitchen my mom would steam them, clean them, and then pile them on the newspaper-covered table. We would each get a little bowl of vinegar with ginger slivers and a plate to throw the shells onto. I loved breaking into the hot shells and picking out the gleaming white pieces of sweet crab meat. A quick dunk in the bowl, a morsel in the mouth, and the hunt was on. As time went on, it seemed like it became a mom and me thing. The guys either weren't around or didn't have the patience for it.

This has to be one of my favorite summer memories from my childhood, in the kitchen with my mom. I hope L one day gets to have fresh crab with her own little bowl of vinegar and ginger.