When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer 17 years ago my oldest daughter bought me a small porcelain doll – a little clown.  All through my treatment the little doll sat on my desk at work smiling at me and encouraging me that I was going to make it through this tough time. As […]

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 […]

Memories! Every year when fall comes and I see the kids going off to school, my mind goes back to the day my first born went to kindergarten – and I have to smile! It was a bittersweet moment years ago, but I still remember as if it were yesterday – the day my first […]

Recently I began following another blogger whose posts I have enjoyed.  Her post that caught my eye was listing five things she liked about herself.  Check it out here: http://cyranny.com/2020/01/15/5-more-things-i-like-about-myself/ The whole point is that we are quick to find things about our self we do not like, things we want to change, things that […]

Although I have 20 grandchildren, only one lives close to me and she is the youngest at 3 1/2 years old.  Needless to say, I spoil her! I am so happy that I was able to share her first trick or treat adventure two years ago.  Dressed as a little bumblebee, we started off with her carrying a […]

Defensive mentality An old hymn of the church which I always disliked tells much about the mentality of the church in years past. “Hold the fort, for I am coming,” Jesus signals still; Wave the answer back to Heaven, “By Thy grace we will.” For many years the church has seemed to view the return […]

Though he was God, He did not think equality with God as something to cling to:  Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When He appeared, in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s […]

Today my husband and I visited an old friend to say goodbye.  In the final stages of cancer it appears he only has a few more weeks to live.  This friend was first my husband’s friend.  They met when my husband stopped at a restaurant owned by this man.  The restaurant was halfway between our […]

My husband and I love to travel without any agenda other than heading in one direction.  As we travel we often get off the main highway and just follow a road wondering where it leads.  Or, we will pull off the interstate into what looks like just a “spot in the road” kind of place. […]

Yesterday I posted about heroes, pointing out the difference between our fantasy super heroes and the “real” heroes of history. Check that out at: Who is Your Super Hero? But today reminds me that we have so many heroes to thank for our freedom, not only for the USA but much of the world.  Today […]

Growing up every year as fall began, I would begin getting excited when the mailman came.  I would come home from school and ask my mother, “Did it come today?”   Anticipation grew each day until finally Mom would smile and say “Here it is!”  How excited I would be as I opened the Montgomery […]

Here we go again!  Another winter advisory!  Ice, then snow and strong winds causing drifting snow, and low visibility.  It looks like we are stuck in a time warp where we keep repeating the same scenario over and over. Moving last fall further north from our home in Illinois we worried that the winter would […]

Halloween is not here yet, Thanksgiving is over a month away and we have 70 days until Christmas.  But today when I went to my mailbox, I found two Christmas catalogs.  As I looked at them, I was struck by how different these appeals for my shopping dollars were.  One was from American Girl and […]

Brrrrr!  It’s so cold outside.  So today while staying snug inside I read and thought one more time on the Christmas story which we have just observed.  Now it’s time to move forward and begin thinking about spring and about the resurrection story. But one writer I read during the Christmas season still speaks to […]