Gaining a heart of wisdom
Returning from a family vacation (and a blogging break!), it's great to be rested and to have stored up some delightful memories with my patient husband, our two youngest sons, and with dear friends who love us so much and so well that they even welcomed our big slobbery dog! On the Nightstand Not… Continue reading Musings — April 2017
It is a trick of human nature that if we walk by the sock under the coffee table enough times, it will eventually disappear. We will have stopped seeing it. This is unfortunate for pristine housekeeping practices, and even more so when we're reading the Bible. It's tragic when we've heard the stories so many… Continue reading Hearing the Stories Anew
Here on this country hill, I see my neighbors from a distance. The stillness and solitude are a bonus, but there are times when I think it would be nice to look up from my weeding and see a friendly face over the garden fence, to compare notes on ripening tomatoes and Japanese beetles, and… Continue reading Visiting Over the Garden Fence
Saying "I do" at any age carries a freight of challenges and adjustments along with the joy, but a 57-year-old newlywed, married for the first time, brings a unique perspective to marriage. Using the parable of her wedding preparations, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth begins Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together with a challenge to adorn… Continue reading Love and Truth Made Visible
Shrouded in mystery, the ways of God are stitched into stories, carried on the smoke of a burning sacrifice, and sung from the heart with both joy and tears. Through promises and prophecies, God hints at a plan that will reel in rebellion and undo death and loss -- until the silence of four hundred… Continue reading Old and New Testaments: One Great Story
Our first summer living on this country hill, the budget was tight and luxuries were few. I had planted a garden that seemed huge to me at the time, and a friend, intending to surprise me, weeded the entire plot as a generous gift from the heart. How could she have known that those random… Continue reading Culture Care: Filling Up the Longing for Beauty
Wood stoves do not render their comforting warmth without regular tending. Fires must be coaxed along with frequent ministrations, and I never give this much thought -- unless my good husband is away, for he miraculously tends to this important detail, and our house stays cozy and warm. Similarly, since the beginning of our marriage,… Continue reading Your Marriage: From Disappointing to Delightful
Because I am married to an unreasonably patient man, we hardly ever argue – except for when it comes to the Ascension. His (perhaps quite reasonable) conclusion from Acts chapter one is this: Jesus went up. The disciples looked up. Therefore, heaven is up. My (perhaps quite unreasonable) argument is that on that day when… Continue reading Rising in Grace and Glory
"Write what you know." It's good counsel, and, if followed, results in a kind of authenticity that can't happen if the author attempts to write outside her realm of real-life experience. Maybe that's why people are still reading Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, a fictional journal that follows the life of Katherine Mortimer from her first entry… Continue reading Stepping Heavenward: A Timeless Classic
We've known for quite a while, so . . . what a relief to finally be able to share with the world the wonderful news that our second grandchild will make his/her appearance in September! For this blessed grandmother ("Bam"), this also means that I get extra time for painting and baking and reading stories… Continue reading Musings – March 2017
Living Our Days 