Written: Oct. 15, 2016 It is amazing what can be in your house that you never notice…Raouf had laminated a small piece of paper and stuck it in the frame of his seminary diploma. Trust me, I have never paid any attention to it. It is written in his “not very illegible” Arabic handwriting. This … More The Note
Written April 3, 2016 I had the privilege of sitting between my two sons today (as we took care of the video and sound) as we watched our Arabic Baptist Church family celebrate 5 years of ministry in Murfreesboro. It was a bittersweet day, as they heard beautiful words shared about the role of their … More Celebrations
We count the days till Christmas or our birthdays (at least when we’re young), or till our children come home for a visit (when we’re old), but I think the only time we count the days from something is death. For the past year, I found myself counting the Wednesdays…since it was on a beautiful … More The 52nd Wednesday
Written: Jan 26, 2016 After a not-so-easy day, God just saw fit to bless me more than I deserve by a nice, long talk over the “computer” with a dear believer daughter from Tunisia. As I listened to her tell me about the doctorate she was working on about the importance of discipleship and how … More After a not-so-easy day
Today, the Arabic Baptist Church hosted a memorial service to mark the 1-year anniversary of my husband’s death. The church was full of people who may not have known Raouf for more than 5 or 6 years, but who were touched by this man of God. As my sons and I listened to one after … More Words of Comfort and Love
This morning I went in for my annual physical. I love my doctor, Kim Shannon, not only because she’s a great doctor, but because we’ve known each other since we were young — so we’re good friends. I have not been looking forward to this day, not because I have anything wrong with my physically, … More The Annual Physical
Written: Nov. 29 2015 He was a stranger in a strange land, and yet his funeral had the largest attendance the funeral home had ever seen. That is just a small glimpse of the impact of Dr. Raouf Ghattas. I will be posting the eulogy in English and Arabic for the many who wanted to … More O Death, Where is Your Victory?
Written: Nov 28, 2015 I had an interesting thought this morning during my quiet time with the Lord. I thought: “Raouf is always leaving me to pack up and join him later!” When he had to leave Egypt and went to the States, I packed the house and saw the boys through the end of … More Going First
Written: Nov 25, 2015 For those of you who are just beginning to read my blog, I am going back one year ago to share posts I had from my Facebook page when my husband died suddenly of a heart attack on a beautiful November day. **** This is what makes me so at peace … More This was my husband
Today, Nermine was helping me finish translating the last of Raouf’s journal notes for the book I’m writing. The majority of the entries of the past 25 years were stories of each person he led to the Lord and the circumstances of their conversion. However, the last entry, written in 2012 said: I asked the … More What’s Next?