Gardening this year reminds me of the struggles farmers face. Their tracts of land are greater, of course, but some of their problems are similar. Farming and gardening both struggle with weather, weeds, loss of crops, and insects. Weather caused late start Where I live, many farmers were unable to finish all their planting because…
Love your neighbor as yourself. That’s a straightforward commandment. But could we just be honest and face facts? We’re not Jesus, and it’s difficult to love everyone. Impossible even. Unless you have help, of course. Thoughts of justice and mercy Some people just irritate me, so I need a lot of help. Lack of a…
Recently, I read one of Erma Bombeck’s books because I wanted to read something funny. Erma Bombeck makes me laugh until tears spill down my cheeks and my side aches. That’s the kind of laughter I wanted. She delivered. I felt better. Laughter is good medicine for the soul. Yet interspersed in the funny columns…
Because on Independence Day, patriotism bestirs our hearts, I wanted to take time to thank our service men and women for keeping our nation safe and to honor them all by sharing a story of one. During high school, Ben Conway gathered with my son and their friends at my house to play video games…
When you pray, be careful what you pray, especially if it involves an old vehicle. My husband, Pat, prayed twice for vehicles: once for one to reach so many miles and another to last through a child’s college graduation. As soon as the first came to the mileage goal, we drove at our own risk.…
I spent May enjoying a writing class with Heather Holleman, professor of composition and advanced writing at Penn State and author of Seated with Christ. I ignored the first few invitations to join the Compel Book Club because May looked super busy with end of the school year stuff, plus a son graduated from college.…
Last week, I shared about how God answered my longing to see a bald eagle in the wild. He answered another prayer that involved cats. I love my feline friends. When my youngest daughter was a baby, I told God that someday I wanted a cat with lots of white. As with my eagle request,…
When I let life discourage me, I miss special moments such as answers to prayer; but then, sometimes an event jolts me back to life with a super slap zing. This is one such story. Don’t let a rumbling, thunderstorm-like, melancholy mood block out the bright sunshine beyond the clouds. Slam on the brakes as…
Are you feeling stressed? In the last few months, multiple changes caused me anxiety. An interesting fact about geckos popped up in our home-school science class though that got me thinking about easing up a bit during transitions. Comparing gecko hairs and people hair Did you know that tiny hairs on geckos’ feet help them…
Since Civil War times, Americans choose the Memorial Day holiday to honor those who died during war and to remember soldiers’ sacrifices. Today, I honor a World War II veteran who died November 10, 2015. The following is an article I wrote that was published in the November 26, 2008, Independent-Register. This brave man shared…