“The beach is open, Lolly.” My two year old grandson’s voice turned his simple remark into a question. The sunshine betrayed the chill in the air. No doubt the water would be freezing, but we would definitely be dipping our toes (and more) in before the week was out! An hour before sunset last Saturday, …
Dangerous Cravings
The palmetto trees swayed rhythmically as I watched down the street for the arrival of my children and grandchildren. Occasionally I glanced toward my phone to check the time and to make sure I hadn’t missed any messages. I switched on the Bible app to get ahead on some reading, knowing my time would be …
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, …
Show Me
YouTube is proof positive that we live in a show me culture. If you’re unsure of how something works or how to fix it if it’s broken, a quick search will bring up half a dozen video how-to gurus. I needed to know how to prune my fig tree last year. I found nine different …
Stones Into Bread
Yummy! Soup! My granddaughter, Amelia, loves to be outside. It doesn’t matter what we do, she just enjoys the outdoors. Recently when I was with her at her house, we decided to pick up rocks from the backyard in an area where the grass simply won’t grow. Little wonder as we unearthed chunks of asphalt …
Spit It Out
Dear Jesus, this day. Dear Jesus, GrannyBob’s birthday. Dear Jesus, baby puppies crying. No more crying. Dear Jesus… the list continues, interrupted by Dear Jesus again and again. If you’ve ever shared bedtime prayers with a child, you know their lists can grow long and often repeating. You want to guide them. You want to …
This Way
Most grandparents have an advantage over parents in one respect- we have long ago gotten over ourselves and we do the silliest things without batting an eye to get a giggle from our grands. Most parents, even the fun loving ones, hesitate to be thought undignified, especially when anyone’s watching. I remember my own daddy …
Sentimental Attachments
I am distracted by clutter but I can’t seem to part with enough at one time to keep my spaces otherwise. There are sentimental attachments here and unfinished projects there. I mean to come right back to this but four other things impede my progress. It is truly as I recall hearing Dr. James Dobson …
Clinging To Rags
My granddaughter and I play a game called find the paci. I’ve learned not to wait until bedtime or naptime to make the search. Each time she wakes, before I even lift her out of the crib, I make a big deal of searching for her pacifier. She has usually tossed it aside during her …
A Fitting Reply 