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, …
Foiled By Impatience
Midway through her pregnancy, my daughter developed a dairy intolerance. Since my cancer surgeries, I have been eating entirely dairy free and since she is my recipe substitution expert, she hasn’t had much of a struggle adapting, with one major exception. Pizza. On a recent visit, we headed to my favorite brick oven pizza restaurant, …
Answering the Enemy
What are your last wakeful thoughts before you fall asleep each evening, the thoughts that follow you into sleep, whether consciously or subconsciously, informing your dreams? Mine tend to be instant replays, like a slide show of conversations or events from the day. Sometimes I’m deliberate about transferring them into longer term storage because they’re …
Forget I Said That
Should I be thankful that I have fewer “I wish I hadn’t said” moments than “I really should have said” ones? God’s divine sense of humor is evident in directing me to Proverbs 15:23NLT for my website and blog, AFittingReply.com. He’s showcasing my greatest weakness for certain, but if He can use my words for …
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 …
Seasoned With Salt
Salt is a funny thing. It preserves in large quantities but only a small bit seasons an entire meal. A mouth full of seawater is much worse than lake water, yet warm salt water makes the perfect rinse for a sore throat. Consuming too much salt can quickly create a health crisis but so can …
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 …
Comfortably Drifting
In my younger days, from childhood through parenthood, I could stay awake into the wee hours engrossed in a good book. Once I read until dawn, finishing a new installment in a series. As I watched the sun peeking over the horizon, I wondered where the time had gone. Now I tend to fall asleep …
Repurposing Rejection
One of my favorite local restaurants is closing soon so I gave myself permission to enjoy it more than once this week. I shared a meal with my daughter and granddaughter on Wednesday while the news media was on site gathering the community’s response to the closing announcement. I invited them to join me again …
A Fitting Reply 