CONNECTING HEARTS THROUGH WORDS
We’re looking for love We’re looking for connection We’re looking for acceptance and approval We’re looking to hang on We never want to let go We crave community We crave loyalty We want to be known And admired And remembered We seek beauty We seek passion We seek comfort and contentment We desire good health... Continue Reading →
One life One love One raindrop One city One moment One kiss One perfect shot One marriage Three decades plus five years Two hearts Beating as one Full of gratitude to God This blessing of a man He’ll always be the one
You don't know what you don't know. And I didn't know what I put her through. My mom waited eleven hours to hear from me. Eleven hours that should've been six, while she was home in Illinois, and I was a high schooler on a January drive with friends, from there to Iowa, to visit... Continue Reading →
We grasped hands and held tightly, probably longer than appropriate considering we were mere strangers at the start. But our short yet profound conversation bonded us in a serendipitous way. "Mind yourself," he said, with a sudden solemnity before releasing his grip. "God bless you." God bless you too, dear sir. We stepped down from... Continue Reading →
I hold my husband's hand and remember that our lives, and those of our kids and grandkids, began because of God’s love for humanity and, specifically, for the passion and adoration He’s given us for Him and for each other. Strong marriages make strong families which, in turn, make strong societies. Having an affectionate, faith-filled... Continue Reading →
Can I be honest? I’ve been pretty discouraged lately. Or, more specifically, discouraged with how technology has changed us. Yesterday, I was in a waiting room and it hit me like it does every time—we don’t talk to each other anymore. Twenty heads bent down looking at their screens. If conversation is initiated on a... Continue Reading →
Words don’t suffice. There aren’t enough that can express. A and E, let my heart talk to yours. You are so adored by your hard-working and fun-loving parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles: Life will be a great adventure. Along the way, we’ll surround you and pray you'll be surrounded by God’s angels too. Your Nonny... Continue Reading →
May 14, 1985 Dad died in the hospital today. Why, why, why, why, why? Why wasn't I taken instead? Mom, Karen, and the boys could live fine without me. How will any of us survive without Dad? June 9, 2023 Dear Younger Me, These are such good questions. Thirty-eight trips around the sun later, and... Continue Reading →
After I repeated the expression, you told me it brought you to tears. “All of God’s grace in one tiny face.” We'd talked on the phone for an hour that afternoon—me swatting bees on the deck of our rental house in Indiana and you back home in Illinois in your cozy recliner, looking at birds... 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 →
“I love you, Mom.” “Hmmm?” (A little louder) “I love you, Mom.” “I love you too ... so very much.” I’d been deep in thought, listening to the song we were slowly dancing to. (The photo above is Brett and Abby, September 14, 2019. Our mother/son dance was prior.) I knew this moment of ours... Continue Reading →
Numbers 6 : 24 - 26 ESV The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Dear moms and dads, This blessing was first spoken from God to Moses. The... Continue Reading →