CONNECTING HEARTS THROUGH WORDS
I’ve kept the gift for over twenty-nine years. When I take off the top and inhale, I’m right back in that significant time—the beginning years of marriage and living in our very own little home, expecting a baby. My sister-in-law, Jan, gave me the Elizabeth Arden body lotion for my birthday, two months before our... Continue Reading →
My husband was out of the country on a work trip. The first part of his absence had been rough, I sometimes counted the seconds until his return, but this day started and ended, almost, uneventfully. In the evening, I fed our then four-year-old, Brett; nursed our then six-week-old, Collin; and somehow got them both... Continue Reading →
I’d take physical exhaustion over mental exhaustion any day of the week. And that’s what social media produces in me—a mental and emotional burnout. So I took the plunge and removed myself. I decided over a year and a half ago, at the end of February and beginning of the Lenten season, to start a... Continue Reading →
1 Corinthians 13 : 2 (NLT) “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing.” Our family of seven, a trio of grown "kids" and... Continue Reading →
Marriage looks like a desperately needed, intertwined nap on a lazy, rainy afternoon and later chopping vegetables, side by side, for a favorite Sunday soup recipe. Marriage looks like pulling boxes of pictures and albums out of storage, getting teary together and saying, “Remember when they were all so little?” Marriage looks like praying on... Continue Reading →
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.” It took us time to get this right. I wish I could go back to our early days of marriage, knowing... Continue Reading →
We've been desensitized to reports of innocent people being shot. We hear a new story every night. It has become our status quo. But most anyone with a beating heart can express that it feels so far gone, we wonder if our course can be changed. There have been nearly fifty mass shootings within our... Continue Reading →
In this Lenten season, we can be reminded—if we take the time and look—that God‘s goodness is everywhere. We can focus on the direness, or we can remember that Jesus came to defeat it all. He’s with us when we arise in the morning, as we navigate our days, and when we close our eyes... Continue Reading →
Words matter. Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” It’s worth reminding ourselves over and again: What we say can bring life or can bring death. If we desire for our world to be better, it’s up to each and every one of... Continue Reading →
“I can’t smell my coffee” was followed later in the day by “This ketchup tastes awful!” No, please let it not be so! We’d been lucky enough to avoid COVID this whole year—Why now? Why just days before Christmas with plans for a beautiful gathering with our family and surprise visitors, our daughter-in-law’s parents from... Continue Reading →
It happened in a blink, the way these things usually do. We were babysitting Brett and Abby's puppy, our grandpup; a rascally, endearing, sixty-pound Sheepadoodle named Berkley. They’re in love with that guy (we are too) and had trouble leaving him for the dog-free overnight they were embarking on. I finally said, “Okay now, just... Continue Reading →
Do you have one loved little one, like me, that’s always screaming for your attention ... always interrupting things? Do you have one that no matter how hard you try and how calm you attempt to make your surroundings, will always squawk just as you’re sitting down to dinner or getting settled in to read... Continue Reading →