In the sweat and grime of one contraction bursting upon another, I concentrated on a child yet unknown, but one already knit with my own heart. Birth in that moment was all about bringing into a hospital room a living breathing little being. The focus was laser pointed on a baby, and nothing else mattered. […]
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I’ve had Christmases without snow, gifts scarce, and family missing, but I’ve never had one without Handel’s Messiah filling my airwaves. When I think of Christmas glory, it is always with a chorus’ swell and movement. “And the glory, the glory of the Lord…” From childhood, words I read in my Bible which are part […]
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My son’s eyes sparkled like sun kissed waters when he pulled a bright red package from under the tree. His little hands reverently held the wrapped box, its smashed bow wobbled, as if ready to lean over the edge and run away. He looked my way. Suddenly shy, my six-year-old hesitated, a worried brow […]
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“And it came to pass in those days” Luke 2:1, “that there went out a decree from Caesar Augstus that all the world should be taxed.” (KJV) What were “those days?” If your feet walked the dust of then, where would they take you? Why after years of prophecy was the time ripe in Bethlehem […]
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I learned to really appreciate this American tradition in a place where it was not celebrated. Our first years we felt alone without family. We joined with fellow North Americans, friends from the same background, others who knew its tradition. Uniquely cultural, Thanksgiving Day grew to include neighbors, friends and curiously interested acquaintances. We astounded […]
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As we enter the season of thanksgiving, I love the emphasis on remembering, being aware of the little things, the falling leaves, slivers of sunshine and raindrops of life. We talk of the blessings of family, home and provisions. The intentional pause to reflect on all we have brings us to remember the Giver. […]
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We went to Italy back in our young days knowing my husband might have an advantage in language and culture. He grew up as a missionary kid in Ecuador. I grew up a farmer’s kid in Kansas. He flew on airplanes. I tagged along on the combine. He picked bananas from the side of the […]
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Almost three years had passed, since our daughter’s illness, but the pain hadn’t lifted. It wrapped around me like a lead blanket. Peter, Jesus’ disciple and I were buds. “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, […]
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One of our grandson’s started first grade this year. He is the first of our son and daughter-in-law’s children to begin first grade. It is a shell shocking experience for all parents. And so I figured on that first school day in September, I ought to FaceTime my grandson, get a good look at him […]
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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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