4 Keys to Thriving as a Single in a World Full of Couples
“You singles out there, go to the lobby and just find someone to marry.” Someone whom I knew and respected actually said that at a meeting I attended a few years ago. I wish I were kidding. It wasn’t a meeting about marriage or singleness. It wasn’t part of...
From Scratch | An Exercise in Creativity
Good granola is like a party in a bowl. Bad granola? It’s closer to cardboard. In Thailand, I learned to make my own granola—the type that qualifies for the “party in a bowl” description. Not that granola is a Thai thing. I just happened to have some...
The Sacrament of Digging Out Egg Sacks
There was a time when I spent three years in a village in rural Kenya, where I lived and worked at an agricultural training center and orphanage. My season in Kenya had a huge impact on my worldview, on how I now see God, suffering, and poverty. On how I see the...
Pros, Cons, and Solutions for Working Remotely
When I walked into my office—a streetside coffee shop called Brewed Awakenings—I thought something was on fire. Smoke billowed from a little toaster oven in the corner. But none of the staff looked concerned, and guests sipped their morning brew in peace. Turns out,...Abandon Ship!
Today was our last day of diving off Bunaken. The weather was questionable when we left, but the skipper assured us it’s changing for the better, that the weather forecast for the day was only light rain. Connie—my friend visiting from the US—decided not to go...A Change in Perspective
I felt, the other day, what it’s like to fly. I ran off the edge of a mountain and soared, feeling the cold mountain wind directly on my face. After about five minutes, I landed in a tea plantation. Crash-landed, actually. But it didn’t hurt. I just laughed and...Serious Play Case Study
Lize Albertyn-du Toit: Farmer and Small Business Owner When you walk into Lize’s farmhouse, you immediately feel at home. Perhaps it’s the welcoming sound of footsteps on the wooden floors. Maybe it’s the rays of sunlight breaking through the little shutters in the...Seeing with the Heart
“Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~ Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince Rarely do I compare. I’ve seen too much in life to covet what others...Psalm 84
I’ve been meditating on some Psalms recently, and remembered re-writing Ps. 84 into my own words when I lived in Kenya. God, what joy to live in your presence, in fact, to even have You live within me. How I long to have more of You, LORD, to live in a way that...
Not far from where I lived in Kenya was the Nakuru National Park, known, among other things, for its soda ash lake that was home to huge flocks of flamingos. It’s easy to sing God’s praises when beholding such beauty. But then you can get distracted by the pungent smell that comes with the presence of hundreds of thousands of birds in one small area. What you choose to focus on is up to you. Personally, I choose to see the beauty. . . . #bluethreadlife #kenya #africa #nakuru #greaterflamingo #flamingo #pink #blue #travelphotography #travel #beauty #earlymornings
Meet Rafael. He’s an artist I met today who is working on some Blue Thread Life pieces for me. Thankful for friends who have been around for a long time and are able to introduce me to the right people who do the best work. . . . #bluethreadlife #antiguaguatemala #artisanjewelry #smallbusiness #smallbusinessowner #custommade #onemercado
This, too, shall pass. It’s but a phase... . . . #bluethreadlife #antiguaguatemala #veryhungrycaterpillar #caterpillar #bugsaroundtheworld #bugs #stagesoflife #blackandyellow #badhairday #butterflyinthemaking
My new friends needed a place to stay for the night, so I hosted them. We made ugali last night, and chai this morning. And I listened to the stories of how they started running. . . At 25, Robert was addicted to drugs and alcohol. He wanted to make a change so he could care for his against parents. So he started running and discovered he is good at it. He has won marathons all over the world, including the Antigua one last year. . . Leah, on the other hand, was 33 and already had 4 kids when
Antigua half marathon Sunday means I get to meet some fellow Africans and use my little Kalenjin and Kiswahili to make them feel seen and loved. This is Robert and Leah. Both came in second in today’s race. Loved meeting them, and am cheering for them as they continue working hard by running all over the world. . . #bluethreadlife #antiguaguatemala #antiguahalfmarathon #marathonrunner #fellowafrican #kenyanrunners #runningasawayoflife #runningtoprovidefortheirfamilies
Looks like just another toad, right? This guy was bigger than my outstretched hand! That’s about 2 pounds worth of forest-dwelling amphibian! Encountered it around 4 am while hiking to watch the sunrise in Tikal. It’s just a tad larger than the tarantula I saw later on the same hike... . . . #bluethreadlife #guatemala #tikal #amphibians #gianttoad #twopoundtoad #yikes #centralamerica #earlymorning #forests #forestcreatures #hearditbeforeisawit #thump
You know the TV game show where you can buy vowels? Maybe the Danish equivalent would let you buy spaces ... please? ~ Actually, I could use more spaces in life in general, which is one reason why I like the mental escape of exploring city neighborhoods on foot. Good for body and soul. ~ Nathan and I spent the past week visiting Copenhagen. I loved seeing bright rusty orange stucco in the neighborhood around our Airbnb — that and long-winded street names. I’ve seen many buildings show off various colors of stucco, but I don’t remember seeing orange like
An hour-long hike at 4 am, including climbing up 191 steps. This is the sunrise from the top of Temple 4. And I am taking this in sitting on steps that were carved by hand almost 3,000 years ago! . . #bluethreadlife #sunrise #tikal #guatemala #ancientguatemala #ancientstructures #worthgettingupfor #travel #seetheworld #centralamerica
Kiptoo doesn’t know, but people were sacrificed to the gods on these circular rocks. Who got sacrificed? Children (as a prayer for more children), famous people captured in wars, and those who won at the ball games, as it was believed they would be reincarnated even stronger... . . To the Mayans, the cyclical nature of the day reflect the world of heaven and the underworld. And so, these round stones were never rolled like a wheel, but transported on logs. . . #bluethreadlife #guatemala #tikal #ancientcultures #theaadventuresofkiptoo #mnms
Temple 4 at sunset. The Mayans believed the sun went into the underworld only to rise behind Temple 1 (opposite temple 4) again. There is a pair of orange-breasted falcons that nest on top of this temple (they are very rare and an endangered species), and I watched for the longest time as they flew around chasing each other playfully. . . . #bluethreadlife #guatemala #tikal #ruins #sunset #mayanruins #ancientcultures #travel #seetheworld #solotraveler #theheavensdeclarehisglory
Back on the Belize side of the border, some things are just the same as on the Guatemalan side: some folks here also bathe in the river. I actually pulled over and walked back to get a photo since the family was washing their entire baby stroller in the river! Friendly folks, these river bathers were. :) . . . #bluethreadlife #belize #centralamerica #bathinginpublic #river #bathingintheriver #whoneedsabathroomanyway #culture #samesamebutdifferent