Jenilee Goodwin's Blog

Stories of trauma, pain, abuse, church hurt, organizational dysfunction, mental health struggles, overwhelming fear, unnecessary backlash, sickness or sudden chaos… there is tremendous pain in each of these stories and so few who know how to hold a story.

Often, it isn’t just one story. It’s a layered story built up over time coming from many avenues through different people and places.

There is the beginning of a painful event or a slow building of challenge. You see something, hear something,...

You all know that we love to have fun over here. Life is full of antics, adventures, and a whole lot of excitement. Since the beginning of this blog, you’ve watched us travel, explore, homeschool, work, play and drink a lot of coffee. You found resources, tips, lists and how-to’s.

You’ve read about our lives #behindtheprayercard as we’ve attempted to connect you to missions overseas in a brand, new way.

As I type, I’m trying to figure out how to write this next part of our journey. We’re all st...

We just want to share some resources with you about this crazy, wild season of missionary life.

Our prayer is that by sharing OUR story with you and then YOU sharing YOUR story with us, together we can walk this journey of life overseas.

Remember, what worked for us may or may not work for you. God is equipping YOU for the task ahead and we pray that this list can be a sounding board for your overseas journey! He’s creating and weaving your very own overseas life story. Never doubt that.

We beli...

As I begin writing again, I can’t help but recognize the books that have impacted me this year and share my book list with you.

It has been a year of growth, introspection, counseling, truth-telling and learning to simply have compassion on myself.

I’ve learned that the lessons of just keep going have truly kept me going for the past 10 years but, to sustain the going, I need to stop.

I need to let myself tap out, ask for help, set boundaries and say no.

God has been asking this of me for a few ...

As I begin writing again, I can’t help but recognize the books that have impacted me this year and share my book list with you.

It has been a year of growth, introspection, counseling, truth-telling and learning to simply have compassion on myself.

I’ve learned that the lessons of just keep going have truly kept me going for the past 10 years but, to sustain the going, I need to stop.

I need to let myself tap out, ask for help, set boundaries and say no.

God has been asking this of me for a few ...

“She will be with you just now,” said the sister {nurse} taking Jeremy’s blood in the emergency unit.

With a laugh, we knew that meant we wouldn’t see the doctor for a while. Jeremy looked at the sister and said, “An American now or a South African now?”

That began a lively discussion on what the different words are used for and how much time they really mean. There’s now, now now, and just now. Which all basically mean NOT now.

Whether something is getting sorted or someone is making a plan, th...

I was sitting at my desk, on a call with a friend, and she asked, “Where have you been?”

I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant… South Africa? Working? Homeschooling my girls?

She said, “Well, another friend at church was asking about you because we don’t see you online much anymore. We see brief updates but not the inside look and fun posts that we’re used to seeing. She just wanted to know if you were ok.”

It’s hard to explain how hard being in missions and being online is sometimes. The longer ...

Last year, I took some time to gather the posts that I’d written through the year and put them in one place.

It’s amazing how much of a journey, a story is told through listing one writing after another, seeing God at work in the different months and moments of a year.

As I sit here now, I find myself in a new country, new season of ministry, new time of parenting and a new journey of growth with Jesus.

A place I didn’t know I’d be yet a place that I know God has directed, planned and designed f...

It must have been a verse that was used in our overseas training or in a long ago chapel service as we prepared to begin our overseas career.

I don’t remember the speaker or the moment I first heard this version of it.

I’m not sure who I was sitting with or what I wore or the time of day.

But I’d posted this verse as my facebook status many years ago. I can imagine my pre-missions self hearing it, typing it and hitting post while the message continued around me.

As I recently drank my coffee in ...

As we search for things to remember in the unknown, there may not be a more iconic Bible story than Noah’s Ark. This story brings cute, animal-filled arks that decorate nurseries in churches and homes alike. The sweet tiny animals can be found in toy isles, children’s books and coloring pages.

We might think the detailed account of Noah’s life is better left for kids church or bedtime stories because we, as adults, already know it so well. We know it forwards and backwards, breezing through the ...