Tagged: Audrey Frank

The angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you!” Luke 1:28 In honor-shame cultures throughout history, women have been honor-burden bearers for their families, tribes, and nations. Men have served as honor guards. Honor-bearers and honor guards have learned their roles from childhood. Avoid shame at all costs. Preserve the honor of the group by doing your part. This is the essence of the honor-shame worldview.  Mary knew her role, even as a young girl. By all cultural standards, she was a beacon of honor. Like other Jewish girls her age, Mary carefully maintained this position in her family and community by doing the expected things: following religious law, fulfilling household duties, and accepting her family’s careful arrangement of… Read More

But true wisdom and power are found in God; counsel and understanding are his. Job 12:13 Somewhere along the line, I absorbed an untruth: We must be experts in whatever we are expert in. I still remember the paralysis I experienced during my Clinical Fellowship Year when a patient asked a question for which I didn’t know the answer. I thought to be a good clinician I should know the answers to all my patients’ questions. I was supposed to be an expert now. Wasn’t that why I took that awful exam to become certified? Turns out, with my Certification of Clinical Competence, I should have received another certification: Certification of Lifelong Learning. Learning is the secret to many things, gratitude being merely one. I learned… Read More

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night. Psalm 92:1-2 Who knew upside-down cake could be made just about anywhere in the world? The old Wycliffe cookbook on my shelf is ragged and worn. The cover long gone, its pages are stained with olive oil, gritty bits of sugar, and smears of chocolate pudding from the homemade edible finger-paint days. Created for people living in places where convenience cooking is non existent, this little wonder made our lives warm and delicious with the barest ingredients. Upside-down cake was a favorite and could be made in the largest pans to feed the biggest… Read More

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8 Ever feel like your life is a movie, maybe a blockbuster, maybe B-rated, but an epic tale nonetheless with an original soundtrack narrating the minutes and the hours? The soundtrack tells a story, sometimes before the story can be seen on-screen. Today I stood on the balcony just beyond my writing desk and listened for what the soundtrack of my life might be saying.  The base rumbled low, harvest tractors crawling back and forth, back and forth, loaded down with piles of juicy grapes. Dissonant tenors struck in minor notes as children kicked a soccer ball around the village square. The… Read More

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18 Pumpkin Pie Squares are my absolute favorite Thanksgiving dessert. I’ve made my mom’s recipe in every country I’ve ever lived, and they always remind me of family gatherings in warm sweaters, cozy cups of coffee, and full-to-bursting afternoons watching football even though I don’t understand it. That’s just what we do back home. This year I find myself again in a land of no Thanksgiving. It’s harvest season and the vineyards shout out in shades of purple, red, orange and yellow. But whoever heard of grapes at Thanksgiving? (I’m sorry if grapes are your favorite Thanksgiving treat.) There are a few pumpkins around, but I’m not sure… Read More

In the region of Abruzzo, Italy, amidst rolling hills of vineyards and olive groves, is a fountain. It flows with new red wine and is free to anyone who finds it. The fountain intentionally sits hidden along what is known as Il Cammino di San Tomasso, or, The Path of Saint Thomas. Pilgrims may stop for a drink on their way to the Basilica of Saint Thomas the Apostle, a beautiful twelfth-century church sitting beside the sea in the quiet town of Ortona. In 1258, a captain brought the remains of Thomas the apostle of Jesus there to be venerated and protected deep within its walls.  Thomas is famously remembered as the Doubter. Honest pilgrims will admit The Way of the Doubter is a well-worn… Read More

The Lord is my shepherd… Psalm 23:1   Jeso muridza mudzo! Nahenza nakamone ko muno! Nahenza Nakamone ko kuno! Nahenza Nakamone ko kuno.   Jesus is a good Shepherd! I long to see Him up ahead leading me! I long to see Him up ahead leading me! I long to see Him up ahead leading me.   To the throb of a one-two, one-two-three drum beat we used to sing these words and dance under the palm shelter that served as our church in East Africa. The purity, the sheer joy of the thought of being shepherded by the Lord, filled every face with light. This group of humble shepherds knew the exhaustion of shepherding sheep, wandering far over the brushy savannah looking for grass… Read More

Metamorphosis: (Greek: metamorphoó) a complete change of character, appearance, substance, or form. To transform. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform (metamorphoó) you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 As I wrangled with my own bad attitude toward personal transformation this week, a butterfly landed in my path. The little creature, painted with colors of sunset against powder black, seemed to have a message for me. Soundlessly she delivered her elegant exhortation.  Let God transform you. She told me a silent story of metamorphosis, a season of dissolving darkness that made her the beauty she now… Read More

[caption id="attachment_4106" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!  Psalm 84:3-4[/caption] Be quiet, O heart, O stubborn heart! Cease your troubled thunder.   Hush now, heart, Compose yourself,   Discern the song of silence.   Can you hear the tinkling melody of swallows? The birds are not worried.   Among the olive trees They dance; Upon branches sparkling with diamond raindrops They drink  Water from heaven.   To and fro,  They journey; With songs of gratitude They delight  In the food that is given.   The doves… Read More

And He will be the security and stability of your times, A treasure of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the Lord is your treasure. Isaiah 33:6 Stable instability: the state of security experienced by those who trust in God when life is unstable. If we trust God, we will find the strength to persevere even during times of instability.  Strength comes through training.  When I was a beginning runner, I ran on pavement. Solid, thick asphalt. Every slam of my foot on its firm surface was met with stubborn force. Immovable, the ground did not absorb my footprint. I ran on stable ground. Then, I discovered trail running. What delight! Combining two of my greatest joys, running and nature, trail running became my… Read More