This past week my husband spoke to the residents of the Teen Challenge Center in Saginaw, Michigan. This is not the first interaction we have had with this organization. Our first experience with Teen Challenge occurred in 1985 in New York City.  Just one year after we were married we spent two weeks at the […]

When my husband and I moved to Michigan last fall I was fascinated by the many lighthouses that are in the state.  In a blog I wrote then I said I was looking forward to spring/summer when we could begin exploring these lighthouses. Michigan’s Lighthouses Well – that time has come. This past weekend we […]

My mother, Fern, and me, Barbara Fern In the last years of my mother’s life she lived in southern Illinois while I lived over 300 miles away in northern Illinois.  I worked a Monday-Friday job and my husband was a pastor which meant his job required work on the weekends.  Thus, it was hard to […]

I have never been one to make New Year resolutions.  My experience has been that most New Year resolutions are broken before the first week in January is over. But this year is different. As 2014 came to an end, I found in my spirit that there were areas in my life I needed, with […]

Those who have been following my blog for awhile know that my husband and I are Scrabble addicts. Confessions of a Scrabble Addict! We have actually got out of bed at 3 am, played a game and then went back to bed! We began keeping score in 2008. We have the score books from all these […]

Hampton Park in Charleston, South Carolina, is a beautiful place to walk or just sit and enjoy the many flowers, trees and the fountain.  When we spent a few months in Charleston during the winter of 2016 we walked almost every day in the park.  At 60 acres, there are plenty of walkways.  Just six […]

I am now into my third year of retirement.  My list of “things to do when I retire” was quite a long one. Type all my husband’s sermons (from 30 years of ministry) and get them organized according to subject and/or scripture.  Check – done! Organize all the pictures, school papers and drawings of my daughters that […]

The young people from Bethel Assembly of God standing with their barrels with funds raised for BGMC this past Sunday! Boys and Girls Missions Club (BGMC) is the missions program my church uses to teach the children to love the world – not just our own country – and to do what they can to make a […]

Growing up in a Christian home, I learned to pray at a very young age.  Prayer was an important part of my family’s life.  Every meal we took turns thanking God for our food.  As the “baby” in the family my first prayers over meal time were memorized prayers like God is great, God is […]

Recently I saw a church sign that invited people to come because their church was “simple and fun.” That sounded great! Who would not want to go to a church that was “fun” and keeping things “simple” in the chaotic times we have been experiencing sounds like a good idea. But is it? Is that […]

It has been a month now since I finished my physical therapy. My therapist warned me that I would need to keep doing my exercises at least two to four times a week if I wanted to remain strong and have less pain. So far, I am exercising every day. Eventually I will probably move […]

In November 2001 my husband and I moved into our new home.  It had no trees or flowers anywhere on the property. In the backyard, a deck opened onto an above ground swimming pool.  The backyard was ugly and hot with lots of concrete and rock around the pool.  Two metal sheds sat on large […]

This song says it all! Our natural inclination is to expect rewards in measure with our performance. If we test well, we expect a good grade. If we perform well at work, we expect a raise or a promotion. We tend to extend this to ethics as well. We have a general belief in reciprocity-I […]

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 […]