Dear Friend, The past week has been hard though it’d be difficult to put my finger on exactly what was it that made it hard. And I must apologize to you for not sending you something last week, because I was too much in the middle of a battle. Or maybe somewhere on the bottom, might be more accurate. If…
Dear Friend, Who doesn’t need stability when health declines, loved ones die, or you just forget your razor on a camping trip? Right? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a life-threatening issue for me to realize I have issues. I forgot my razor on a four-day camping trip with friends over the fourth of July weekend. It introduced a new…
Dear Friend, Happy (slightly early) Fourth of July! After deleting numerous attempts to convey an “appropriate” amount of gratitude for those who have served our country, those currently serving, and especially the One who purchased ultimate freedom for us – I wave the white flag of surrender. There isn’t anything I can say that would be “right” enough to do…
Dear Friend, You did everything you were supposed to and it still didn’t turn out as you’d hoped. Maybe not even close. Maybe abysmally far from what you’d prayed for. And then – test time – do you still believe God loves you? Of course I do. How preposterous to ask such a stupid question! But since God obviously forgot…
Dear Friend, Welcome to the summer series Tea Party Tidbits. A small morsel for the soul – a verse or a quote – in a fun graphic. (Is it making you hungry, too? Chocolate-covered strawberries and tea, anyone?) Seriously, I wish we could sit down and enjoy the real thing together. I read a fabulous phrase on (in)courage.com the other…
Dear Friend, I was at a party last summer with some of my husband’s co-workers – fellow engineers – discussing gardening with two of them. (Maybe I was doing more listening than talking.) My ears perked when I heard one bemoan, “The edible plants require SO much more water than the others!” The conversation continued down a different trail, but…
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill My garden is doing this with or without me. If you are a real gardener, I imagine you might scoff at my garden plot. It’s not impressive – just a small strip of malnourished dirt that wraps around the back of…
I was laying tilted back with my mouth agape, sporting the ever fashionable dentist napkin-thingy, while the dental hygienist poked and prodded with assorted tools. “Do you brush vigorously?” she asked, scraping away. I cautiously shook my head, to avoid getting stabbed. She tried to figure out why my gums receded and commanded me to heed how hard I brushed.…
This story still moves me. I discovered the thoughts in an old journal, but I pray God uses it to breathe fresh hope. I’m getting just barely enough to survive. Drops of grace. Just when I think I can’t hardly take it, along comes one encouragement. But it’s just ONE. But at least it’s one. I’m trying to be ok…
I want to be happy on Mother’s Day, but I also want to be sensitive. So many raw territories to navigate: the first Mother’s Day without your mom, or feeling around the edges of the fissure that was left years ago by her death, Alzheimer’s, rejection, abuse, neglect, or serious strain. Mother’s Day when you have a wayward child, a…
