Tomorrow we celebrate 34 years together! I still marvel at this story of ours – and how God brought us together. Grandma’s Ramblings “We as a community of friends are gathered here in God’s presence to witness Paul and Barbara’s renewal of commitment to one another and to ask God’s continued blessings on them. Marriage, […]
Hard to believe it has been one year already. Exactly one year ago today my husband and I left our home in northern Illinois and traveled to the middle of Michigan to a new home. The metropolitan area we lived in known as the Quad Cities has a population of over 400,000. It includes five […]
I don’t know where I got this story – so I can’t give proper credit to the writer but it really makes me think as we approach another Thanksgiving season – one that is full of chaos and difficult decisions. Do we keep our gatherings small? Do we ignore warnings and enjoy our family and […]
This past year has been so crazy! And the TV news channels I think have only added to the confusion and division. Depending on whether you watch CNN or FOX News you usually get a different take on the same story. One evening I just flipped back and forth between the two and I could […]
Today is the third week I have not been able to make it to church. Two weeks ago I was in too much pain to go. Last week we were all snowed in and church was cancelled. Today I am suffering again from pain. Feeling a little down – I miss my church family, I […]
35 years – but the memory of that time is still clear in my mind. I had moved back to Illinois from Missouri to be near family. My husband of 13 years had been killed in an accident and with him my dreams of a home in the country was gone. With two little girls […]
I post this every year – but I think the message never gets old. We talk a lot about the cross and how terrible the death of Jesus was. The story of Peter’s denial of Jesus and the rest of the disciples fleeing from the garden where he was arrested are familiar to us. It […]
Great and holy God awe and reverence fear and trembling do not come easily to us for we are not Old Testament Jews or Moses or mystics or sensitive enough. Forgive us for slouching into Your presence with little expectation and less awe than we would eagerly give a visiting dignitary. We need neither Jehovah […]
Today is the third week I have not been able to make it to church. Two weeks ago I was in too much pain to go. Last week we were all snowed in and church was cancelled. Today I am suffering again from pain. Feeling a little down – I miss my church family, I […]
In the Gospel of Mark Jesus pointed out to His disciples a widow woman who placed two little coins in the offering box in the Temple. Compared to the much larger amounts they had seen others give earlier, her offering seemed like nothing. Yet Jesus pointed out that they had given of their abundance while […]
My husband and I visited the Fort Custer National Cemetery today. We were impressed by the entrance to the cemetery. All along the main road were rows and rows of flags. This Avenue of Flags was dedicated May 26, 1986. It is composed of 152 flagpoles located along the main road, and an additional 50 […]
First, the cross We talk a lot about the cross and how terrible the death of Jesus was. The story of Peter’s denial of Jesus and the rest of the disciples fleeing from the garden where he was arrested are familiar to us. It is good that we take time to reflect on the agony, […]
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 […]
Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of […]
