Third Culture Thriving

I've used a number of different reflection and goal setting systems in years past, but none of them felt perfectly suited for our life overseas. So this year, I created my own, just for us third culture ladies. I'm so excited to share it with you all today!

Each time I ask for ideas for upcoming topics, someone always puts in "how to make friends with locals". Did we all think that was going to be a lot easier than it is? When I look back, I think this was my most naive moment as I began my life in another culture. I can still see the stars in my eyes as I imagined the community I would have. A community that is, to be honest, nothing like the commun...

Nothing brings your personal waste into full focus like moving to a country with no recycling system, where trash is either rifled through by your neighbors or, more likely, burned in your backyard. A lot of these tips are mainly geared towards females, as you probably could've guessed. But there are lots of tips and suggestions for the whole household, too. Let's get into it.

We've talked about self care on this podcast before. While it's definitely a buzzword, and often conjures up unattainable images of candlelit baths with large glasses of wine, I do think self care is essential for thriving, wherever we are. But today, I want to address another layer of the self-care conversation that I think often gets glossed over: how we often "triage" our souls with self care a...

At some point in our lives overseas, we all hit a point of exhaustion, and usually due to culture stress. They are often intertwined, even if they seem like they are separate things. Having an arsenal of coping strategies is incredibly important, and something that we should all be cultivating as we learn and grow in our roles in our host countries. Today, I'm going to share what I feel are some o...

Today we're diving into one of the most requested topics for this show: tending to your marriage while living in a new culture. I'm gonna just preface this entire thing with the necessary disclaimers: I am not a counselor or a professional in any way related to this field. I have been married for 12 years, attended a few marriage conferences, read a number of books, and had my share of marriage co...

What do you do, if you feel like you're a bad missionary? (or insert your label here!) If this is you, or has ever been you, I want you to close your eyes for a minute and picture yourself in a cozy little cafe, curled up in your favorite sweater, drinking your favorite hot beverage, sitting across from me. I see your heart, and I hear how much you are hurting. I ache for you as you share the guil...

Friends, as you move through this life overseas, you need all the community you can get. I pray that as you build relationships and flesh out what community would look like for you, that you would be blessed with people you can walk alongside, encourage, share burdens with, and celebrate with. Maybe the cohort idea will be a tool to you- I hope that it is!

It's the hallmark phrase after a mission trip. "Meeting this person changed me." "Seeing the other side of the world made me reexamine my life." Or "I can't think about this or see this the same way again" You've felt it. I've felt it. I think it hits another level for us as we live overseas long-term. When we make our homes in another country, and we become with another culture, it gives us a per...

The events and milestones I miss in the lives of family and friends The opportunities I know I might not get The community that moves on The parents that age while we are away The resources we could have access to The friends my kids could've had The vibrant church community we are missing The celebrations we could've had The friends we could've done life with Friends, it's heavy. Saying yes to a...

It's been a few months since we had regular episodes, so today we're looking ahead to what season 3 will hold, updating on life a little, answering listener/follower questions, and briefly discussing pandemic travel at the end. Thanks for listening, so excited for this season!