Surprised By God

My daughter, Caroline, crept on  cat’s paws through the house during the night. Being the only girl, her room was always situated closest to my own. When they were small, both her brothers raised the alarm at deafening pitch if they were ever sick or awakened by a dream. You heard them long before you …

Much More To Say  

I watch my girls with my grandchildren. They are often so overwhelmed and I remember! Sleep is elusive and days are long because nights are short. Like so many of us, mothers before them, they’ve been entrusted with these precious lives. They carried them inside their own bodies for nearly a year and now that …

Compelled

“You don’t get in my face, Poppy,” said Amelia. “I have a runny nose.” We had just stood  to join in the congregational hymns and when I hoisted Amelia to my hip, she saw my husband coming down the aisle to take his seat next to me. She immediately lunged for him and as he …

If You Know You Know

Amelia is my favorite granddaughter and I don’t mind telling anyone so. As it happens, she’s also my only granddaughter. She’s the most beautiful, brightest, most gifted, most coordinated sweetheart and she holds her Poppy’s heart in her little hands. She saves our seat each week for worship. Her face lights up when our eyes …

Lifelines

I could no more choose a favorite Bible verse than I could choose a favorite child. God’s entire Word is precious to me because it is His presence with me animated by His Spirit in me. One verse or passage may have special meaning during a particular season, come in answer to prayer, or just …

All My Days

How would you sum up your lifetime in just a few paragraphs? I am nearing the end of my fifty-fifth year and though I feel what the psalmist asserts, my life is but a breath, at the same time my years have been full and rich in both experience and emotion. My grandchildren have only …

Failure To Thrive

Ezra is army crawling and he made his first full hands and knees attempts last week. In the meantime, he’s pulling up on anything he can reach. Timothy took his first tentative steps over the weekend while playing ball with his dad and big brother, Thomas. These second-born boys are highly motivated by their older …

How Many Hearts?

Thomas started attending Little Learners classes with his mom at the zoo when he turned three.  January’s first class was rescheduled due to ice and snow, but he made it up this week. He learned that an octopus has eight arms, nine brains, and three hearts. Scientists believe that three hearts are necessary to circulate …

Destined For Trouble

You’ve heard the saying, “Silence is golden, unless you have toddlers, then silence is suspicious.” I was reminded earlier today just how true that statement can be. Both girls were putting their babies down for a nap in the guest rooms downstairs and since it was too cold to be outside, the toddlers and I …

What Does God Know?

The realty office was closed on Christmas Day so my check in packet, including my keys to our rented home, were left in a locked box outside. Only when I arrived to retrieve my packet, the door to the box stood ajar. The hinge squeaked ominously as I cautiously pulled back the door. Large white …