Usually this time of year, I am peppering my kids with questions, asking them if their backpacks are still good from last year? Do they need new shoes? When are they going back to their college campuses? What is their new schedule? This year just feels different. 2020 has given us many gifts, but principally it… Read more
10 Lessons I’ve Learned from Martha Rojas I met Martha twenty years ago, when she was just starting a children’s home. Over these years, I’ve told her stories on stages, in books, and to groups. I’ve prayed for and with her, and she’s taught me some incredible lessons: about provision, persistence, perspective. Martha is one… Read more
We’ve seen so much commentary on whether life was better before quarantine, or during it. Did we like our freedom and did we use it well, or do we prefer our new simplicity? It reminds me of when I was trying to decide after living 15 years in Mexico, if I was more “Mexican” or… Read more
Hi, I’m Beth! And this May is unlike a May that we’ve ever had. We are all getting used to what might be our new normal, this change that’s happened as a result of COVID-19, and in the midst of all this change and things that are new, we have parts of this season we’re… Read more
I had been planning this letter for a while for the kids under my roof, but as I sit here in the middle of COVID-19, the situation has certainly changed. I am thinking about the graduates I love in Cincinnati, Nigeria, Mexico, and around the world. There won’t be teary-eyed pictures, taken after a long… Read more
Mother’s Day is a day when we celebrate life and life-caregivers. Women who exercise their mom-muscles (on their children, their students, their neighbors, their grandchildren, their step-children, their foster children, their players, you get the idea!) are acting like God. The maternal characteristics come from God, since in Genesis 1, it says, “God created mankind in… Read more
This is the week that allows us to dream- all the rest of the days of the year- about stories of reconciliation and restoration and redemption and rescue and repair. This is the week the Lord wrote with incredible intentionality, from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday. Every detail is rich with meaning. The story started… Read more
One consistent piece of a mission trip with BackBack is debriefing at the end of day. Debriefing circles are an intimate, intentional way to gather at the end of every day to discuss highs, lows, pictures of the day, and what each person is learning about themselves, others, and God. We want the week to… Read more
Live on Mission and Build Community in Your Home During COVID-19 There are only so many board games one family can play and still enjoy it! I was realizing during my fourth game of cards the other night, if I want to foster unity in my home, we need to focus on something outside of… Read more
This month, I’ve been thinking about the difference between living as a child of God and living with more of what I think of as an “orphan spirit.” I know I’m a child of God. I know what John 1 talks about – I understand that means I’ve been forgiven, redeemed, reconciled, called, and loved. But my… Read more