So – school was cancelled and we have our littlest granddaughter for an a couple of days. I listed some ideas we could do on a cold winter day. What To Do On a Cold Winter Day Well baby it is cold outside! Right now at 6:00 pm it is -7 with a windchill of […]
We all love a winner! We hold parades, parties, all kinds of celebrations when our team becomes state champion. Coming in second in a state-wide contest leaves people feeling so dejected. They seem to forget that being second means they have beat out many other teams. In the Olympics, athletics say they are going for […]
My little seven-year-old granddaughter spent the night with me. She has a stuffed character from Dr. Seuss that always joins us for games. When she was very little we bought this character for her. I named him Willie, gave him a voice and she began interacting with him. As time has passed Willie has become […]
In our small group Bible Study we have been looking at the names of God in the Bible. One of those names is El-Roi, “the God who sees me.” I wrote about the basis for that name recently in The God Who Sees Me – Part 1. Reading that story led me to think of times in my […]
Recently our youngest granddaughter had a sleepover with us. We took her to a children’s museum. On the way home we started playing a game we had played with our children when they were little to pass the time on a road trip. My husband started by saying “I’m going on a picnic and I’m […]
A few years ago my husband and I took our youngest granddaughter for a walk by the Mississippi River. She loved watching the boats go by and feeding the ducks. As we finished our walk and headed to the car, she realized that we were very close to the John Deere Pavilion. She loves going […]
Rosie Fern Sechrest – 4/16/1918 to 4/4/2006 Hard to believe it has been 12 years since my mother died. Hard to believe it has been that long. My birthday and my mother’s were only eight days apart so we often celebrated them together. The year my mother died my husband and I had gone down […]
I recently wrote about the controversy we have at this time of year over saying “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays.” Standing in line to pay for my book at Barnes and Noble today, I heard the customer ahead of me complaining to the clerk because he had wished her “Happy Holidays!” She proceeded to tell […]
This past week I was at a women’s Bible study when our leader asked us: What is today? Everyone immediately called out: It’s Valentine’s day! She then asked us: But what else is it? Sadly, only a few realized it was the beginning of Lent, it was Ash Wednesday. For this week’s lesson we had […]
via Daily Prompt: Someday How often we say we will do something “someday.” Especially at this time of year we make New Year resolutions that starting the first of this year I am going to actually do those things I keep saying I will do “someday.” Unfortunately someday seems to never come. Because I seldom […]
In the continued exploring of our new state, Michigan, this week my husband and I headed to Grand Rapids to check out the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum. It was quite an impressive place. Beautiful grounds and building. Along with a reflecting pond with fountain there were beautiful flowers around the area where President Ford and […]
I recently wrote an article about how we treat worship like we do a movie or a theatre performance instead of what it should be – honoring the Lord. https://barblaneblog.com/2017/04/04/worship-whats-your-style/ While working on our church newsletter I found this cartoon and just had to share it. Hope it brings a laugh – and maybe a […]
On May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard, Jr became the first American in space. Mercury-Redstone’s 15-minute flight was watched by some 45 million television viewers. I was one of those eagerly watching. Our junior high school classes suspended the day’s teaching and brought in television sets so we could watch this great moment in history. What […]
I have been planning with some of the women in my church for a game night. Just a time for us to get together and have fun with one another getting to know each other better. Not a time of Bible study Not a time to do a service project Not a time to fix […]
