My husband chiseled out what he calls a prayer stump from the trunk of a fallen tree. Its back behind our house where he is hidden from human eyes. It’s an uncomfortable seat, an earthly throne of sorts, where he brings our children and grandchildren to a much higher and greater Throne. I do the […]
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“Do you like me?” the elder three-year-old asked his little brother. He rolled onto his side and hugged the little body of his two-year-old brother lying beside him. In a world of Facebook, Instagram, TicTok, YouTube and a myriad of other online communities, it’s a very important question. Do you like me? We are a […]
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I yanked and pulled until the weed snapped, its root still intact like a vein under the skin of the earth. I’m not a great gardener. I might even be a lousy gardener. Roots like those, with their centipede hairy tributaries put me out. It is their fault. They are my bitter roots. “Pursue peace […]
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The scenery changes outside my window. From tree covered mountains to patchwork plains. I’m going home, although I’m not even sure where that is anymore. I’ve called so many places home. But, these ironed flat fields of Kansas hold my growing up memories. They root me to this soil like the tall cottonwoods that line […]
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“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” I’ve not lived a long time in Virginia, but in the time I have, I’ve seen a lot of trees. Coming from the broad mid-west where storms were fierce and majestic, I feel like the […]
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From the back of the car, three kids sang with megaphone voices. “Do everything without complaining, do everything without arguing, so that you will become blameless and pure, children of God.” Ah yes, I loved teaching my children Scripture songs because they needed them so much. Blonde heads swayed right and left along with the […]
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“Gamma!” my little grandson shouts. He begins his own personal happy dance with one chubby knee up first, then a big hop on one leg and a galloping pivot that nearly knocks him flat. Those seconds his face lights up with that wide welcome smile makes me want to turn, go out and come in […]
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My youngest grandchild has begun to climb out of his crib with his mattress as low as possible while wearing his sleep sack. It’s a feat. The security camera recording shows his formidable skills forward, backward, slow motion and fast. He just sort of vaults and swings. And bingo, he is over. Quite remarkable, really. […]
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The first time I boarded a plane for Italy, I left with one husband, 24 suitcases, a child on each hip, one holding her daddy’s hand and the absolute assurance God had called. My parents and his parents lined up to say good-bye at the airport. My dad wasn’t touchy-feely. He may have lacked in […]
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“I don’t know where we’re at,” Phil’s dad used to say from the front seat of his handicapped van. In his later days my father-in-law, sweet and intelligent seemed to live in an anxious state of lost. He leaned far forward against the taut seatbelt, and peered with squinted eyes at the road ahead. The […]
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