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 …
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 …
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 …
Under the Radar I braced myself as we prepared to land on a small gravel runway. I was nineteen, in the Canadian arctic, beyond civilization, in a land inhabited by grizzly bears. The plan was that my eighteen-year-old pilot friend would return with his mother and then we would hike to the edge of the …
Wasps On A War Path The wedding celebration was ready to begin. We scanned the seating arrangements and found our assigned table. I was delighted to find that my chair was beside two little girls ages two and four. It was more than I could resist, I reached out and brushed the cheek of the …
Thank Him Before It Happens Sometimes God lets us sink low to get our attention, then when the time is right picks us up, dusts us off, and lavishes us with His love. Both my husband I were discouraged. It had nearly been a year to the day since we felt God had told us …
It Can’t Always Be Pancakes and Pastries “Mom, do we have to have oatmeal porridge again?” If I had had my way I would have eaten pancakes and pastries every morning and skipped porridge all together! I moaned and complained but Mom never gave in. Unless it was the weekend, porridge it was. Mom knew …