I’m just “ta-prending,” Lolly. My two year old grandson, Thomas, has a vivid imagination. In preparation for the arrival of his baby brother in a few weeks, he is rehearsing all of his favorite things with the stuffed penguin chick that has a recording of Timothy’s heartbeat inside. Just this evening, he put Timothy in …
A Clear Witness For Jesus
Why do we insist on making everything about us? We live in a very self centered culture. Each of our lives becomes a center like the sun with the lives and spheres of others gravitating in and out of our miniature systems. No wonder we are so prone to colliding and reacting, like an old …
Conspicuously Absent
My mother had a beautiful young friend who babysat for us when I was a girl. She was one of those rare souls who loved purely and simply, who readily shared a smile and laughter even while she was hiding her own pain. Her life was cut short by cancer, but she blessed all who …
Jesus In Me
How long have you known me? All your life? All my life? A few days, weeks, months, years, or only for a season? Much of your knowledge of me depends on our relationship to one another, but even more on your relationship to Christ. In families and within communities, there are degrees of relationship. I …
Numbered
Meeting GrannyBob 💕 Last week, I attempted a family tree for Thomas, tracing back through the generations still living on both sides of his family. He wasn’t necessarily following, but it was fun to write out all the names he knows and have him recognize them by their first letters. He has a great great …
Focusing On Fear
My grandson woke suddenly after midnight screaming, “I need you, Mommy, I need you!” I keep the monitor for her to get a good night’s sleep when I can, and sometimes I can console him. Sometimes he just needs his mommy to calm down. I’ve wakened from dreams with my heart literally racing. I’ve wakened …
Wait For It
Contemplative. If one word could define a person, this is me. My mom recalls my first grade teacher (also her first grade teacher) informing her that I routinely stared out the window of her classroom. She thought I was daydreaming, but when she asked a direct question of me, I promptly gave the correct response. …
Pray For Me
We got the creeping crud for Christmas. Three working in the medical field combined with coming together after various family gatherings means germs are rampant, and general lack of sleep during the holidays adds insult to injury. By the time our grandson woke up on the morning after Christmas with a high fever, he knew …
Keep the Light On
Old school Christmas lights ran in series so that if one bulb burned out, the entire string went dark. If you could find the faulty bulb and replace it, the series was restored, but testing each bulb often wasn’t worth the effort. For years, I saved the spare bulbs provided with each light strand I …
There’s Time
Single digits in the countdown to Christmas for an adult means everything seems to move faster, but for a child, the days creep by at a sloth’s pace, same as ever. There’s no real hurry and twenty-four hours lasts just as long as it always does, there’s just that sense of urgency that presses in …
A Fitting Reply 