Blog Posts
Settling the Heart
Faith
|Some of us are natural-born worriers. My mother was one; she passed the gene on to me. For those afflicted, any and everything can become a source of anxiety. There are the “normal” things to angst over: “Are my kids going to ‘make it’ in life?” “What if something horrible happens to my husband?” “Will…
Autumn
Lessons from Nature
|After a long, hot summer that kept the leaves green well into October, Autumn finally arrived. The trees wore reds from crimson to cherry, golds from saffron to mustard, oranges from apricot to pumpkin; the green of their youth forgotten. Leaves turned to brown, the wind blew, the once colorful petals flutter to the ground;…
Perseverance
Lessons from Nature
|In her yellow and white polka-dot overalls, I watched as eleven-month-old Janie attempted her first steps. Tentative but determined, she let go of the square, oak coffee table, took one step… “plop;” her little bottom hit the dark blue carpet. Barely pausing, she reached for the table, pulled herself up and tried again …and again…
Listening Well
Grace
|Sometimes I listen well. Like the time Eloise, my 88-year-old mother-in-law stubbornly refused to see the doctor. Wrapped in her red fleece cover, feet propped up on her short cane stool with jaw set, she listened to her favorite game show in her eat-in kitchen. She flatly refused to see the doctor about her worsening…
Failure
Uncategorized
|I failed. Again. I set a goal, worked hard, gave it my best … and failed. “Nobody died,” I reminded myself. “No one’s even hurt. And Nancy, who could be upset, isn’t.” So why am I still struggling? Pride? Perhaps, but no one else knew my goal. My celebration would have been limited to a…
Mosaics
Uncategorized
|“‘For it is just like a man who was about to take a journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his possessions.’” (Matthew 25:14, Amplified Bible.) Many people had told Barbara she had a good voice. She had sung on and off (mostly off) since sixth grade when she was chosen…
Changing Seasons
Faith, God's Faithfulness
|“Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding….” (Proverbs 3:5, Amplified Bible) Late September. Chilly. Pouring rain. The season is changing from the heat of Summer to the chill of Autumn. I’m not a fan of hot and humid; I’m not…
Ask
God's Faithfulness, Grace, Prayer
|“…inquire of God, that we may know ….” (Judges 18:5, New King James Version) Lydia and Steve are church friends. With her bright red hair, big smile and warm, outgoing personality I was surprised – and thankful! – to learn that she’s an engineer and a “computer person.” When she says “call me anytime” she…
This Doesn’t Feel Like Exercise, Does It?
God's Faithfulness, Grace
|“…there is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother.”(Proverbs 18:24b, Amplified Bible) “This doesn’t feel like exercise, does it?” the fit, perky blond asked. She wore a yellow top with her black exercise pants. The class, a group of trim women of varies ages, heights, and builds, all wore…