zach n kali

On January 8th, Jesus welcomed my mother saying, "Well done, my good and faithful servant". On January 19th we celebrated her life with friends and family. I thought long and hard over what I would share during her service.  Words could never do this incredible woman justice. I thought about the suffering she endured here on earth. So much suffering. There is no question about the MS that took a toll on her body, especially over the last 14 years. But no one has really addressed the suffering that my mom dealt with from 1998-2008 as she raised three preteens and teenagers. People have talked about the joy she had as she chose Jesus instead of bitterness, but what about the joy she chose to find in sitting through 27 middle school and high school plays – not just once, but every single performance? She deserves a plaque at Vienna Christian School. We talk about Mom's perseverance through her pain, but what about the ways that she persevered through conversation as I reco...

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him" (1 Samuel 1:27). After finally adjusting to the craziness of having three kids (it only took us about a year and a half, haha!) we decided to put our names back on the fostering list in August.  During the months leading up to this, I spent time praying over the precious life that would join our family.  Prayers for his or her safety, prayers for comfort, prayers for health and protection.  As we got our room ready for the little one, I made a sign to go above the crib with 1 Samuel 1:27 written on it.  It only seemed fitting. In my deepest heart I wanted this little one to know that he was already loved. Not surprisingly, the day we went back on the list we got a call.  A newborn baby boy, waiting in the NICU for a family.  We were it.  And oh how we loved him! He hadn't been named, and Samuel felt like the perfect choice.  Our Sammy began to grow and thrive and smile ...

It's been almost a year since I last wrote.  Funny how words used to just flow out of me, but now much of my day is spent listening instead of writing.  Listening to the kids play, listening to Minecraft plans, listening to squabbles, listening to recaps of soccer games.  It is often said we need to spend more time listening and less time speaking.  This year, I want to add to that. I want to spend more time praying. Prayer is something I didn't struggle with too much until I had kids.  And then it was still easy to pray for the basic things - good attitudes, health, and safety -  but I confess it came at a pretty superficial level.  I was amazed at the people who prayed for their children's spouses when their kids were still newborns.  It wasn't just the dedication that impressed me so much; it was the control they seemed to be giving up.  At the moment I'm a pretty big fan of arranged marriages.  And arranged careers.  And arran...

My dance card is full... but not because I don't want to dance with you.  It's because there are three little lives who have currently filled out lines 1-10. With their tiny little hands they have scribbled in their names and in the margin they have written "we get 11-20 also".  Their dances do not mesh with mine - I'd prefer a slow dance to the cacophony of sounds they are currently jamming to. Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries The dance of the week is Sickness - not that they chose it on purpose, but it is what they are playing.  I'd prefer Health or Energy.  And while sometimes just two of us dance, at other times all three join in.  We look like a one-man-band, stumbling around, one on my back, one trying to lead, one dancing to a completely different rhythm, and me, just waiting for the song to end.  The other dancers have cleared the floor, because, let's be honest, Sickness is not a dance anyone wants to join. ...

Over the past six months I have done so much thinking about the need for more foster families. During National Foster Care Awareness month in May I heard number after number - over 20,000 children in foster care in LA county, over 60,000 in California.  I have been discouraged by the consistent high numbers of children in the system, waiting for someone to provide a safe, nurturing home.  I have wondered what difference we could possibly be making when the number is that high.  I have felt burdened to the point of wishing that I could stick my head in the sand and pretend that there was no need at all. Close my eyes, look the other way.  Revert to the old plan - small little family, our safe little life. Oh but what a selfish way to live. Pretending that the problem doesn't exist will not solve it.  Looking the other way does not give a child a warm bed.  I have lifted my tired heart to God and told him that I was tired of feeling called and hearing of th...

The month of May was National Foster Care Month.  In light of this I wanted to wrap up a few thoughts I had.  Much of our family's story is familiar to many of you who have have walked with us on this journey, the many of you who have cried with us and celebrated with us, have carried us when we've been exhausted, and have lived life alongside us.  Zach and I were so humbled and blessed to share our story in a few different settings over the month.  Humbled because so many of you out there have greater stories and have done so much more than we have, but we pray that God would use our  little  voices for his glory. We are not the poster children for foster care - what we are is the poster children for God's grace and redemption, as are each one of you who calls himself a Christ follower.  But prayerfully, our journey as a foster family would speak to you in your own walk with the Lord, in demonstrating God's amazing grace when we walk with faith. ...

It's amazing the lasting impact that can come from one random conversation.  For me, one comment that has left a lasting impression on my life comes from a conversation that I had with my pastor's wife over 10 years ago.  We didn't talk regularly, and I can't remember how it came up, but I remember that we were talking after service one day, and she was telling me about their family's decision to move overseas as missionaries.  Her own parents didn't really seem to understand, and she said that she herself often doubted the decision.  But then she said something that I now am striving to live my life by.  She said, "Would you rather be comfortable and out of God's will or uncomfortable and in God's will?" I like to be comfortable.  And it's easy tell myself that I'm in God's will.  It's easy to accept the easy times as a "reward" and to take some "time off" from the uncomfortable things that God calls us ...