My grandson wanted to roast marshmallows over a campfire but we’ve been in a drought. My dad agreed to build the fire when we came to visit, and in God’s perfect timing, it rained the day before and the day of our visit. He added the wood to fuel the fire before we arrived. By …
Coming Home
Three highways become one main street through downtown, then veer off in different directions again across town. As a college student new to the area, my directional skills were a little sketchy. From the front of campus, I turned left and drove straight until I reached the interstate toward home. From the back entrance, a …
Moves and Countermoves
Two has arrived in full force for my daughter and her husband. Their son has discovered his voice and along with it, his autonomy. My husband looked across the table in the restaurant, saying, “Please don’t stand up in your chair. I don’t want you to fall.” His reply? In his sternest voice, “Poppy, don’t …
Who Else?
I am a firm believer that we all have so much to be thankful for every single day. Part of recognizing this is the daily practice of coming into God’s presence with gratitude in our hearts. Once you start saying thank You to God, you may find that your prayers grow longer. If you’re unconvinced, …
Shake Off The Dust
My least favorite job of the week falls on bath day for the Great Danes. No, I’m not responsible for the actual bathing. They outgrew me long ago. My husband has managed that task since our son married. My job is to wash their bedding. I hold my breath as I stand on the edge …
Foot In The Door
Nearly every Sunday for a decade, our younger son, the lone extrovert in a family of introverts, came into worship after Sunday school with one friend or another in tow, asking if he could come over after church. Has your friend asked his parents? No? Then we’ll make a plan for another time. End of …
Upside Down
All you can eat buffets must thrive along the coast year round because they’re on every corner. I’ve never been able to enjoy a meal with so many offerings because I fill up on the salad, and quantity over quality tends to prevail. Even after trying a small sampling of several items and desserts, I …
What has…?
A Riddle “They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound.” Psalms 115:5-7 NLT https://bible.com/bible/116/psa.115.5-7.NLT When our eldest officially became a teen, my husband …
Where Are You Tonight?
The shepherds were watching their flocks the night that Christ was born. The wise men were far to the east when the Christ star appeared, doing whatever wise men do. Joseph and Mary were crowded into a stable in Bethlehem for a census decreed by an emperor who was merely concerned about his tax base, …
Special Privilege
It’s officially December and Christmas is only a few weeks away. Yet December twenty-fifth would pass like any other day unless I choose to observe its significance and celebrate it. Since it falls on a Sunday, I will attend a worship service at my local church and share a meal with family, but between now …
A Fitting Reply 