Gaining a heart of wisdom
Going through an old journal from the days of four kids under the age of nine, I found an entry based on my reading of Nehemiah 4:10: “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot build the wall.” “Wow,” I thought, scanning the entry. “That must have been quite… Continue reading Feeling Helpless in the Rubble? Remember the Lord!
In the aftermath of a big snowstorm, I'm grateful for the good work of our son with his snowplow. He clears the driveway, pushes the snow into big piles, and leaves the yard accessible to our vehicles and our feet. What works great here in the northeast when winter has us by the throat does… Continue reading You Need to Know that God Is Not a Snowplow Parent
When my sons were small, I kept a running list of their funny sayings in my journal or in the memory books I kept for each of them. Many of the most amusing or surprising were questions: "What's inside my tongue?""Did Moses watch tv?""Does Penny (our dog) pray?" They kept me on my toes, but… Continue reading Does Your Life Inspire Questions from Your Grandkids?
I've never been a good sleeper, and that must have been annoying to my poor mother, who just wanted a few minutes' peace. It's annoying to me now, in the third 3rd of a busy life in which I could benefit from a catnap now and then. Thankfully, I'm no longer sleepless because of fear,… Continue reading The Beautiful Truth that God Never Sleeps
I did something I've never done before at a recent women's conference. In a session on prayer, I asked the women to write their most pressing prayer request on a Post-it Note so they could see it and acknowledge the reality of that desire by pinning it to paper. Then, I offered to join them… Continue reading Keep Praying with Hope for Your Prodigal Child
If you're looking for me in the summertime, you're likely to find me standing under a floppy sunhat, weeding, picking, or just wandering around in the garden. The work of the garden is not measured by time but by task. There is no standard of perfection (at least not in my garden!). The job is… Continue reading What’s Your Favorite Place in All the World?
My son called with a question, and (for a change) the call was actually for me. (I don't do home renovation or car repair questions.) He had been raking blueberries and had settled down to pick them over, removing the unripe berries, leaves, and stems. It's slow and painstaking work. "How clean do you get… Continue reading Think About What You Want to See on Your Plate
Robert Frost tells the story1 of a young girl, tiny and fierce, who followed her brother into the woods to pick wild grapes. Pulling down the tops of flexible white birch trees, he with his boyish heft was able to pick fruit from vines at the very top of the forest. The trouble started when… Continue reading Hope for a Parent’s Heart as Kids Leave the Nest
The sun shone warm on my back, and my youngest granddaughter's eyes were nearly closed as I gently pushed the swing. Playground mayhem surrounded us, but we were wrapped in the quiet of a sunny summer afternoon. The grandmotherly privilege of one-on-one time with a toddler requires an intense commitment to being present in the… Continue reading Walking and Waiting in the Way of Wisdom
A tall platform at the Colorado Springs Zoo gives patrons a once-in-a-lifetime, eyeball-to-eyeball experience with giraffes, the gentle giants of the animal kingdom. Not quite two years old, my little grandson fed lettuce leaves to his new, tame, and very attentive friends. “Look at those big brown eyes!” I crowed. “Big, beautiful eyes like yours!” “Long purple… Continue reading Hey, We Don’t Talk That Way In Our House
Living Our Days 