Parenting is a lot like gardening… The gardener tills the ground and plants a seed, within days a sprout pushes up through the soil and spreads two small leaves. The gardener waters it and the sun heats the soil. Soon blossoms appear followed by baby melons. It only takes ninety days to grow a melon. …
LOOKING FOR SURPRISES After years of witnessing God in action it no longer surprises me when I see Him in the details, neither has it become commonplace for me. Every time it happens my heart soars and often, like my mother before me, I burst out singing the Doxology. “Praise God from whom all blessings …
The Most Valuable Family Tradition With Mother’s Day just around the corner, my thoughts have naturally turned to memories of my own mother. Clear back to my earliest years and beyond are memories of poems my mother wrote declaring, in the face of hardship, her trust in God and His promises. Promises were regularly claimed, …
Take A Closer Look It was one of the most stressful times in my life, not one I would ever want to repeat. My stomach was twisted in knots and I broke out in an angry red rash. I tried hard not to touch my neck, the rawest most inflamed. It itched like mad so …
Garbage Exchanged for Feathers As a preteen, the annual fundraiser for our Pathfinder club was a garbathon. Even before the snow completely melted we began collecting pledges to pick up garbage along a four-mile stretch of road that connected our communities. Besides learning a lesson in hard work, you can be sure that not one of us …
Beauty for Ashes If you follow my posts you will have noticed that recently I was caught in a mournful struggle. I hardly slept and I stumbled numbly through my day. I refrained from using mascara as my moist eyes were only inviting a black-streaked face. It’s hard to deal with a living loss, hard …
He still calms storms I received a message from a friend. “Do you know the song ‘Rock Little Boat’? I would like to sing it for church this Sabbath, could you play it?” Did I know it?! I was instantly taken back to age four. I can still picture the black tape recorder… I could hear …
He Heard Me Crying Emotions frozen, fear pinning me to the ground. I stumble through the day while tears ebb and flow like tides on a restless sea. My mother’s heart wants to jump in, wants to stop the nightmare, wants to save her from herself. The temptation of images of all sorts of horrors …
homesick I was visiting with a small group of people when I heard a man’s voice as he entered the store. Although I knew it wasn’t my father, his voice resembled his and tears instantly streamed down my face. This spontaneous reaction took me completely off guard. Circumstances have made it such, that the last …
Pumpkin Pie and Baked Squash It was Thanksgiving morning. With family spread far and wide our celebration would be nothing big, but nonetheless important. Being a household of multiple dietary needs, I set out to make double of nearly everything. No one was going to be left out this year! Pumpkin pie is my husband’s favorite and the first thing I …