I’m used to God living and moving freely inside my head. He has unimpeded access to my thoughts and knows my words before I speak because I surrendered my life to Him in Christ and His Holy Spirit abides in me. His work in this season of my life involves my learning to let Him …
Passionate Commitment
Same dress, same hair, same smile, she shared the stage with the others, but she sat while they stood. She had my heart before I knew her name, just like my grandchildren. I enter a room with my heart extended. I can’t help it. I used to think I simply had a soft spot for …
Happy Birthday, Jesus
We’ve decided to celebrate Christmas a little differently this year with our little ones. Christmas is, after all, Jesus’s birthday and our celebrations should reflect truth more than culture, so this is the year we will start a new family tradition. Since our married children have their own families, we’ve settled on the morning of …
On Purpose
I stood in the children’s book aisle reading the latest offering of board books, three month old Amelia sleeping in her carrier next to my heart. Each time I reached to a lower shelf, she stirred restlessly. I was beginning to feel the same way, as if I was being stirred from slumber as well. …
Impress Them
My precious sister loves my children well, loves them like her own, even before she had two girls of her own. She and my daughter are very much alike as God designed them. Both taught 5th grade for three years before staying home with children. Both love to bake and their love language is giving …
Trust Fall
As I sat rocking her, my granddaughter, Amelia, jerked suddenly, enough to wake herself from a sound sleep. As I tried to soothe her, an image from the past appeared vividly in my mind. My husband and I were at summer camp with our kids and the teens from our church. Our group was divided …
Missed My Window
I’ve only experienced Black Friday in the early hours just after midnight once. Though it’s largely online now and spans several weeks leading up to and beyond the Friday after Thanksgiving, I remember a time when I avoided it at all costs. Then my daughter, in her early teens, began hearing from her friends about …
Meaning(Full) Life
I sat with my dad on the eve of a second heart surgery. His thirteen year old replacement valve now needs replacing. We talked about his great-grandchildren and how quickly they’re growing. We caught up on the day to day and tried to solve the world’s problems, but I could sense what was really on …
Seeing With Fresh Eyes
My niece, Anna, ran for her phone to take a picture of the red skyline above the lake in my backyard tonight. She snagged her sister by the arm on her way out the door. Hearing them exclaim over the beauty of the sunset reminded me of how many times I’ve been stopped in my …
Where is your Damascus?
The spring of my daughter’s wedding, she asked if we could ride the Virginia Creeper Trail together. We traveled to Damascus, the midpoint of the thirty-five mile trail, rented bikes and chartered a lift to the trailhead seventeen miles up in Whitetop. That first year was perfectly magical! We shared a quaint little room in …
A Fitting Reply 