(June 27, 2013) For Sale signs sprout up in front of houses like lilies in early summer. For many, the end of a school year brings a season of transition—a move. Our house is currently cluttered with boxes as a son prepares to move across the country. The packing process gets complicated by souvenirs of […]
(May 19, 2013) The journey that began with a stack of diapers and swaddling blankets will reach a pinnacle at the toss of a tassel. Our youngest child will soon don a long robe and mortarboard to receive his college diploma. This, he thinks, is no big deal, just a necessary bit of pageantry. As a […]
(May 12, 2013) There are things we never receive because we don’t pray believing. Jesus said that, and encouraged his followers to speak to “mountains,” those big things that appear immovable (Mark 11:22-24). Sickness and disease should qualify. Jesus spent much of his ministry healing the sick. Then he passed the baton to his disciples—not […]
(April 27, 2013) The journey that began with a stack of diapers and swaddling blankets will reach a pinnacle at the toss of a tassel. Our youngest child will soon don a long robe and mortarboard to receive his college diploma. This, he thinks, is no big deal, just a necessary bit of pageantry. As a […]
There is no Easter bunny. I lowered my head in disappointment and embarrassment. An older playmate had just informed five-year-old me that Santa, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny were mere deceptions. I had to grow up. At least God remained safe. I held on to religious traditions: words, music, prayers and the atmosphere […]
The first month of 2013 marked a 40th anniversary that many observed but no one should have celebrated. Yet much of our national media didn’t do much to remind us of the January, 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. It’s been an ugly business for 40 years, with passionate arguments that […]
(December 6, 2012) Lights, camera, action! The Christmas holidays beckon us to perform. We’ll host get-togethers for friends or family. We’ll decorate, shop, wrap, bake, and send out greeting cards with our family photo—the one that shows us looking relaxed. The Christmas season has a way of strapping us into the back seat and taking […]
Thanksgiving couldn’t wait until late November this year. It showed up early when I opened One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. By chapter three, I wasn’t just reading; I had responded to the challenge that inspired the best-seller—to list one thousand blessings. The author, a farmer’s wife and homeschooling mother of six, had plenty of […]
October 9, 2012 – A fall road trip took us across the country in a direction we’d never traveled. Amazing desert vistas lay ahead—more wonderful than we’d imagined. My husband and I had decided to take our daughter’s car to her at college— a 1300-mile-journey from our Texas home. The trip would be a visit, […]
(August 26, 2012) – Reading the book of Jonah for the first time troubled me. Not the miraculous aspect—I easily digested the man-gets-swallowed-by-fish part. But Jonah’s stubborn response to God bothered me. I couldn’t relate to the prophet’s attitude—until I found myself following his example. Wednesdays meant prayer meeting at our church on the edge […]