Recently, our two-year-old has been saying, “I give you heart,” when anyone in the family is hurt. She runs over to that person and offers a kiss and then this phrase. At first, I thought she was saying “I give you hugs,” but as I listened more closely, I realized she was making a connection …
This week is the week where Christmas and Christmastide collide every year. For many who celebrate a cultural Christmas, this week is full of taking down decorations, reorganizing, and decluttering in order to get ready for the New Year. For me, this is the week for basking in the light of all five candles blazing: …
Last week, I went to the church for my weekly check of the building. On my list was organizing the non-perishable food donations that were collected through porch drops in order to pack bags for our neighbors in need. Also on my list was checking messages, checking the mail, and something I had been avoiding …
This morning, my dedication was renewed after a wonderful time of worship online. There was so much that happened last week so quickly that it really was very difficult to process through everything: schools closing, cancelling vacations, moving to working from home and homeschooling. I don’t know about you but I ended every day exhausted …
Five Lenten seasons ago, I took on the task of trying to free a butterfly bush in our yard from the entanglement of a prickly weed that was strangling its growth and stealing all its nutrients. Turns out that I wasn’t actually freeing a butterfly bush but a Bradford Pear tree that had been struck …
In the midst of the fear and uncertainty of the Coronavirus and uncertain stock market, it is easy to become dismayed. These are not things we can control. These are events that are rapidly changing the way we interact with each other, the way that we gather, and the plans we have made to travel. …
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Our son’s school sends out a monthly calendar and as I was perusing it, I realized there was a teacher in-service day that I hadn’t been expecting. Maybe it was the leap day or the shortness of February that made me miss the update, but I found myself scrambling because that’s a day I had …
Have you ever watched the show “Naked and Afraid?” It’s a survival show that involves two people usually a man and a woman being dropped in the wilderness. They have nothing with them except one personal item and they are naked. They have no food and no water and they have to try to survive …
This suitcase has been with me for eleven years. It was one of the two I packed to move overseas for a year. It was quite an investment at the time because I wanted it to last and because I wanted features like dual wheels. But I haven’t traveled overseas in quite a while nor …
I had a dream the other night that I was arriving at the yearly baptist denominational gathering. The first encounter was from a male colleague who greeted me with a lingering hug. My body stiffened and my mind prepared for what was to come. As he departed, he commented on how good I looked and …
