Old Testament Bible stories are filled with content little boys dream of - giants, bad guys and lots of weapons. My 4-year old insists on "solider stories" and knows, "God's team is the good team".

Chronicles 20 tells the story of King Jehoshaphat's response when huge enemy armies marched against him. The king was terrified, sought the Lord for guidance, and ordered his entire kingdom to fast. The king prayed a humble prayer that resounded with truth. His kingdom belonged to God, and God had worked out bigger problems than this before.

Cape Town is a bucket list city, flaunting breathtaking mountains, beaches, and even a few famous roads. One roadway you can't miss is an unfinished bridge that rises above the heart of the city and abruptly stops mid-air. Construction began in the 1970's, and there are no plans to finish it.

I took this picture of Wyatt for the boys in the background.

We've been in an extra-challenging season, learning to new sides of Benjamin's PDA profile of autism. I've been posting brotherly bonds and family adventures as a banner over us. We're still doing the things that matter. We choose these moments to mark us.

Christian music was new to me in 2006 when Casting Crowns released "Praise You in This Storm". The band recently re-released their song with a fresh take, and it hit different this time. Not because of the different style, but because I'm in a different storm.

According to the "Teacher" in Ecclesiastes, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." ( 3:1) He begins with, "a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.." (Eccl 3:2) And carries on until the reader and the Teacher himself are whirling with the question, "What's the point?"

We work. We hope. We try. We toil. We laugh. We weep.

Blessing Offor is a Nigerian-born singer, songwriter and musician. He was born blind in one eye and with compromised vision in the other. Blessing's parents made a gut-wrenching decision for him to move across the world from them at the tender age of six. Their sacrifice was to save his vision through first-world medical care.

We are "church people". My husband's favorite part of the week is preaching, and I was called the SiSwati word for "Sunday" in the community I served previously because of my passion for church.

Last Sunday, I was in the kiddies class with our 17-month old. I noticed our 4-year old wasn't dancing front and center as usual. I found him heaped on the floor with a despondent look. I knew he desired to participate, but autism was shutting him down instead.

I was up late recently, rattled by the twists and turns of parenting a child with special needs. A teething baby demanded comfort just as I started to settle. One hour of sleep later, it was time for a new day to start!

There was a redeeming moment in that nauseatingly caffeinated day…

I would love to powerfully connect with God every single morning when I rise to give Him the first part of my day. Sometimes I'm tired, distracted, or find that I just don't know what to say.

I like to think I've learned a "hack" to connect my intention to commune with God to my distracted, sleepy reality.

I've been reaching out to the generous hands who have held us on the mission field. I am always surprised to pick up right where I left off with college roommates, childhood teachers, mentors, and friends from lifetimes ago. It's been refreshing to give thanks repeatedly and remember how God has provided.

God put a picture in my mind before I had children. I was sitting on the floor with piles of laundry, toys everywhere, and everything out of order. I could almost feel the chaos in the scene. In it, God whispered, "Daughter, you never have to live in chaos."

This week, my youngest children danced and played in our back garden. They were lovingly tucked into their safe, warm beds every night while I kept careful watch over them with baby monitors. Meanwhile, a few kilometers away, our city was in utter disarray.

A violent, week-long taxi strike in Cape Town kept hundreds of thousands of teachers and learners away from school and employees away from work. Kids just like mine lost parents as the strike became murderous.

Our missional family has the benefit of being keenly aware of God's miraculous provision each month when bills are paid and food is on the table. God gives us what we need, when we need it. Not more or less. When we've tried to increase our monthly support to fully cover our needs without those "please, please, please" eeky squeaky prayers, the funds don't come. There's always space for a miracle in our budget. The real miracle is knowing we need God and finding Him in our need.

My primary job description looks more like "rodeo wrangler" than "mom" with three boys. People often tell me I have my hands full. A common, heartfelt question pointed at me is, "Are you getting any 'me time'?" I always smile back and say, "Of course not!"

What is God's will for my life?

If, somewhere within us, exists a purpose grand enough for the Son of Man to lay down his life, we want to make sure our lives mean something. We think about our purpose when we come upon a crossing of the narrow and wide roads, life seasons or relationships change, or when we can't find our fit in this world.

God dreamt every facet of you before He formed you (Jer 1:5). You and I are created in the image of God, to hope for things still unseen. Dreaming is innate to our design.

I know this intimately. Still, I wonder if I dreamt the wrong dreams or was completely off track when the good things I pray for don't come to pass. Do I risk dreaming again? Do I keep hoping?

I've been wrestling with my Maker lately. My past-tense prayers snared me this week, and I stumbled under the weight of unrealized dreams.

I don't wonder if He is good. I don't question my shortsightedness in comparison to His sovereignty. But still, the desires of my heart pound against the realities of my flesh like an internal war. I wonder "Why?" - even when I will myself to stop.

Teenage me loved buying soundtrack CDs. The music behind the movie often says more than the script. It cues your emotions and sets the stage for the next thing.

My teenager has mastered the art of creating personal soundtracks. He has a playlist for game day, short car trips, long car trips, sleepovers with friends, chores, and almost anything he does. Our reality is that we are always hearing something, whether it's others' opinions or your own thought track. I think my son is onto something by choosing what he wants to hear to prepare him for what he's doing.

Benjamin lives with an unusual form of autism called Extreme Demand Avoidance.

Most people's primary drive is survival. Our brains will do anything to ensure we have food, water, and air. Benjamin, and kids like him, have a primary drive for autonomy and equality.

I had GREAT intentions this week, yet somehow I managed to really stuff things up. In an effort to strengthen a relationship, I dwelt on our weaknesses instead. It was a full-on disaster. I feared the words I couldn't un-say caused damage I couldn't undo.