Gaining a heart of wisdom
The sturdy wooden stakes that supported my tomato plants through their season of growing have been pulled and re-purposed. Now that the garden lies exhausted and well past fruition, those beat up stakes have been pressed into service holding burlap to protect our rhododendron bushes from the weight of snow and the whip of howling… Continue reading Musings — October 2017
The most recent natural disaster spreads itself across your news feed while coverage has preempted the day's programming on NPR. A grizzled, rheumy-eyed man reeking of alcohol sticks out his hand and cobbles together a story of need. A blog post about the refugee crisis sets you to wondering if there's anything practical your family,… Continue reading Let It Trouble Your Heart: Jayber Crow Discussion Group (8)
When I learned in fifth grade that Helen Keller had graduated from college summa cum laude, I made it my goal to do the same. As it happened, those little Latin words that mean "with the highest distinction" did actually end up being embossed on the white parchment of my degree, thereby setting me on a course… Continue reading The Beautiful Hidden Life
Modern medicine has made optimists out of us all. Cancer? Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy frequently combine to leave the patient cancer-free or living well with the disease as a chronic illness. Heart attack? Clot-busters, by-pass surgery, rehabilitation, and the patient returns to a normal life. Dementia? Well, that's a different story. Pharmaceutical options are disappointing,… Continue reading Dementia, Dignity, and Honoring God
I listened to hard words today from a dear woman I've loved and admired for nearly twenty years. We were seated in her small room in a nursing home, my grandson was exploring every nook, cranny, and light switch (and eating one of the cookies we had brought for her!), and I asked her how… Continue reading When the Time Comes to Look Back — Jayber Crow Discussion Group (7)
If my dining room table could talk, it might begin with a story about cinnamon rolls whose aroma can pull family out of bed like a giant magnet. Smiling and sleepy, they sniff their way toward the dining room and the warm welcome of a breakfast gathering. My scratched up table might share memories of… Continue reading Nurturing Faith and Strengthening Family Ties Around the Table
When it comes to friendship, to a confidence of our place and belonging to a group, all of us have at least one toe in Middle School. The sense of being outside looking in is ubiquitous enough that it has its own acronym (FOMO). In a speech delivered to a young adult audience in 1944,… Continue reading The Problem of Belonging: Jayber Crow Discussion Group (6)
Four young men have grown up around our dining room table, and the book of Proverbs has shown up as a regular on the breakfast menu, along with the oatmeal and the eggs. Liz Curtis Higgs asked hundreds of her readers to choose their favorite verses from the Proverbs and then narrowed the list down… Continue reading The Proverbs: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life
I've spent the past week reconnecting with my sister. She lives in Alaska. I live in Maine. She has one grown daughter, while I've spent the past 23 years living in a boys' dormitory. She has lovely nails and her wardrobe demonstrates an awareness of the comings and goings of style. My hands and my… Continue reading Stepping onto the Common Ground — Jayber Crow Discussion Group (5)
Those who shake their family tree may be pelted with details they’d rather not know. The blight I encountered in my particular grove was cancer—multiple varieties, hereditary strains. Suddenly I feel a deep kinship with the unending parade of friends and acquaintances who are hearing the word cancer breathed into the air of clinical spaces. I’m thankful… Continue reading 5 Books that Breathe Faith into the Cancer Journey
Living Our Days 