The story begins with the disciples approaching Jesus with a seemingly reasonable request: “Lord! Increase our faith!” It’s an understandable request given the sort of things Jesus has been teaching: Love your enemies. Bless those who curse you. Forgive even when it’s not deserved. Give without expecting anything in return. Be ready to take up […]
On a recent trip to Ludington, Michigan I saw some interesting signs along the way. from a restaurant: “Our fish come from the best schools.” from an ice cream parlor: “This is a happy place…if you are crabby, go home.” from the trail to the Big Sable Lighthouse at the life saving station: “Be prepared […]
Spring break this year found my both my daughter and her husband out of town on their jobs leaving my husband and I to take care of – and entertain – our eight-year-old granddaughter. What to do? We played school with the animals. My husband bought these animals at the local zoo one year when […]
It is now four days since Christmas. I have my Christmas decorations all boxed up and downstairs in the storage room. Today I am dusting, vacuuming and doing whole house cleaning. Getting rid of the cookie crumbs in the carpet, the shiny tinsel that dropped from the tree ornaments as we took them off the […]
What a week this has been! Sunday evening my husband was rushed into emergency surgery for a subdural hematoma. Because of the coronavirus I could not go to the hospital with him. At 3:30 that afternoon the surgeon’s assistant called me and told me they were doing emergency surgery and without the surgery my husband […]
With recent health issues, I have been spending way too much time at home. Experiencing a lot of severe pain, I am faced with two choices. Take pain medications and then feel too sleepy or zombie-like to do anything. Don’t take pain medications and hurt too bad to do anything. I have missed church, given […]
There is so much talk today about being racist. Many are quick to call others by that name while as many as quick to insist they are not racist and that they are tired of people using the “race card.” While I have never been called a racist (at least as far as I know) […]
I was born in southern Illinois but much of my adult life has been spent in northern Illinois. Everywhere I have gone people ask me where in the South I was born. Most guess Tennessee, Kentucky or even Mississippi. Often I have been told that I have a “southern twang” – whatever that means. My […]
Spring break this year found my both my daughter and her husband out of town on their jobs leaving my husband and I to take care of – and entertain – our eight-year-old granddaughter. What to do? We played school with the animals. My husband bought these animals at the local zoo one year when […]
A few years ago my husband and I bought our little granddaughter some toy zoo animals. We assumed she would play with them for a couple of years and then we would pass them on to another small child. We also assumed she would just play with them by herself. Were we ever wrong! From […]
When I wrote this 4 years ago this “piped piper” was continuing to reach out to others – not only children but mentoring young adult women and sharing God’s Word. It has been a joy to see her become an ordained minister and now she begins a new adventure as a pastor. Wonder how much […]
Shortly after my retirement my husband and I made a trip to North Carolina to visit our children who live there. On the way we decided to stop and explore the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina. Built by George Vanderbilt, grandson of famed industrialist and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt, in Asheville, North Carolina in 1887 […]
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 […]
This week my husband and I traded in our flip phones for a smart phone. I have resisted doing this for some time. It’s not that I am not computer savvy – but I must confess as I age and as the technology keeps making leaps and bounds, I fear that I will never keep […]
