Happy New Year, everyone!  The traditional Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, and today is the first day of the New Year.  (Note:...

“Welcome home,” a friend greeted me when I got back to Beijing from my travels.  It was a good feeling, to be welcomed back to this...

Sunday I took a quick trip to the Temple of Heaven with some church friends who were passing through Beijing.  The Temple of Heaven is...

China does not officially celebrate Christmas.  It is a regular work day for almost everyone.  The exceptions are some foreigners get the...

During Advent, I spent time with two of my favorite Biblical characters: Zechariah and Elizabeth.  This was an ordinary Israelite couple...

In some ways, it seems odd for a coffee shop to be popular in China, where tea is the most common beverage.  And yet, coffee shops are...

“All it takes is the decision to walk with some awareness, both of who you are and what you are doing” (An Altar in the World, Barbara...

If this blog is any indication, I go to the Great Wall a lot.  I promise this isn’t normal.  We just had more visitors.  When you have...

I had visitors this week, and I took them to the Great Wall Wednesday.  There are several portions north of Beijing, and the one we went...

“Reverence may take all kinds of forms, depending on what it is that awakens awe in you by reminding you of your true size.” —An Altar in...

Beijing’s weather is similar to Michigan’s, but slightly warmer.  While Michigan had its first frost, Beijing’s air just turned crisp...

When I was preparing to move, people kept telling me I’m really brave.  I don’t think of myself as brave.  I don’t feel brave.  When I...

Today I took advantage of the “golden season” weather (temperatures in the mid-60s, clear, with blue skies) and visited a site I’ve long...

If I had cameras following me for the last week (plus a bigger budget and higher expectations) this is what I imagine my House Hunters:...

I finally took my camera out today, after having been in Beijing for a week.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I could...

I was talking to a friend and apologized for the grief that my decision to go overseas is causing everyone. She said, “grief is a strong...

A few weeks ago I got Ingrid Michaelson’s new album, Lights Out.  The refrain of the song “Wonderful Unknown” strikes me every time I...

Goodbye. It has such finality.  There’s so much longing and sadness.  And yet, it is inevitable.  We all say goodbye to people and places...

Today’s prayer is inspired by the concept of the transition bridge and Psalm 46. You are my “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in...

I don’t like transitions.  The past year or so of my life has been full of them; I am approaching the one year mark since I was finished...