What a sad week! First came the news reports about Christians in Iraq suffering intense persecution. Then followed the national gasp as we learned of the tragic deaths of Robin Williams and Michael Brown. By the end of the week, I vacillated between hating to watch the news yet knowing I should find out the […]
For several years, I have wanted an umbrella over my deck table. My plan was to sit on my deck to write or pray and not worry about the Kansas sun beating down on me. But every year – no matter how determined I was to save the money, I could not find enough extra
A plastic bag is stuck in my elm tree. It’s too high for me to reach it, and I’m way past the days when I shinnied up the bark of my favorite tree and journaled while talking to the birds. I’m not climbing up there to pull it down. I don’t know how to get
Since life is so unpredictable, it often unravels. All my carefully constructed plans can fall apart within minutes after the doctor presents his diagnosis, I open an email intended for someone else, or the consultant decides my job is expendable. What do we do when life unravels? How do we react so that the very
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Last weekend, I attended graduation receptions for two young women. I have followed these girls through the lives and prayers of their mothers – two of my friends. And when I see these girls on Facebook or at my church, I smile – even though I know they probably don’t realize who I am or
Cheering for the Young Read More »
For some reason, I am keeping my old bicycle. Both tires are flat, but the leather seat is still intact and all of the gears still work. Several spokes are broken and hang at cock-eyed angles like broken arms on a football player. Why am I keeping this bicycle? At one point, I thought of
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In one of the scenes in the 3rd Reverend G book, she wanders around a cemetery. Recently, I found myself doing the same thing. Isn’t it odd how often life imitates art? Since I was in my hometown for a book signing, I stopped at the cemetery to “visit” with Dad and all the other
Cemetery Wanderings Read More »
It may seem a bit premature, but we have started dividing up Mom’s things. She no longer needs a cabinet full of Tupperware containers, because she no longer lives in her house or cooks and puts away leftovers. In one kitchen cabinet, the cast-iron pot sits like a lonely sentinel of Sunday dinners past. Every
What is the Value of a Cast-Iron Pot? Read More »
She has been one of my favorite authors – forever – and I think I have read everything she ever wrote. For years, I listened to her “GateWay to Joy” devotions on the radio, mesmerized by her mellow voice and inspired by her story. Elisabeth Elliott was one of the wives of the missionaries who
An Incredible Woman of Words Read More »
What is it about February? The shortest month seems to stretch into a cavernous calendar of grey days. Grey isn’t my color. I don’t live well in February. Occasional spits of snowy ice combine with frigid temperatures. We huddle tighter inside our coats, wishing for a warm blast from the Gulf rather than the icy
Finding Hope in the Grey Read More »