Gaining a heart of wisdom
It's the terminal milestone on the parenting journey: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." III John 4 Even so, there are a good many ways of measuring its achievement. It's what we aim for and pray for, but how do we know that are children have made the leap from… Continue reading The Beauty of Sacrifice and the Joy of Giving
Sometimes it’s the very thing that makes you wild, the thing that feels as if it may be your undoing, which ultimately saves your life. For me right now, the pebble in my shoe is a 15-foot speed boat parked parallel to the north side of our house. The college-aged son is a project magnet… Continue reading Following the Trail Back to Hope
Some of my happiest mothering memories are set in a blue mini-van on the open road as our family traveled cross country for five weeks back in the summer of 2010. With very few distractions, our time together was focused on the beauty around us and the many sights we all shared for the first… Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day!
In 1914, when Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to celebrate mothers, there's no way he could have predicted the century of retail hoopla and family angst that would ride on the coattails of his intention to simply honor mothers and their role in the family.… Continue reading A Collection of Books for a Grace-Filled Mother’s Day
I heard her footsteps on the stairs one night — jolted out of a sound sleep and into the familiar world of worry. Step, click, pause. The foot, the cane, the balance check. Exhaling in the dark, I realized . . . no. I had been dreaming. She’s not here anymore. She’s walking in safety… Continue reading Caregiving: Wisdom for the Sandwich Generation
We arrived at our campsite well after dark. The rodeo had been a much-anticipated highlight of our cross-country trip, and no one was in a hurry to stop talking about it -- or to crawl into our sleeping bags. It’s a good thing, too, because standing where our tent should have been was a small… Continue reading The Perfect Vacation for an Imperfect Family
Some mornings the new mercy arrives at 4 a.m., looking like a slice of lemon yellow sunrise behind ragged lavender clouds. My early morning drive to the hospital sent me due east. Not knowing what I would find there, I thanked God for the mercy of ambulances and strong men who lift gently and answer… Continue reading The Meeting Places
When my thrifty mother-in-law made mincemeat, she would start with the venison roast from a deer who may have had the audacity to nibble on her tulip leaves. From there, she would improvise, adding whatever needed using up on that particular day: a batch of jam that didn’t “set up” just right or an over-abundance… Continue reading Start Where I Am. Use What I Have.
The walls had been rebuilt. The people living in and around the city of Jerusalem had gathered. Along with the fresh aroma of new lumber from Ezra’s wooden platform and his strong voice ringing out over the hum of the crowd, celebration was in the air! Within the barely-renovated city walls of Jerusalem, there was… Continue reading Celebration and Lament
Deep into the days of summer, I'm sharing a post that I wrote last year for my church's website. With an early spring snow, this year's garden is behind schedule, but what a treasure it was to discover hearty, red-veined beet leaves during a just-before-dusk weeding session last night . . . Once the dew… Continue reading Abundance and Harvest – Still in the Garden
Living Our Days 