Have you noticed all the half-priced candied hearts and discounted chocolates? Ahha. It must be February. February: Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and Dental Health Month! I wonder. Did America’s dentists choose this month because we eat so much chocolate, or because George Washington’s teeth were notoriously unhealthy? The world may never know. In any case, [...]
Some years ago, I was overcome by a sense of hopelessness after volunteering in a fourth grade class at my children’s school. (In the story below, I’ve changed the kids’ names and details for their own sakes.) That day, I wrote about my experience. This week, I found myself discouraged again for the children who [...]
Only one. Oh, all the children knew their parts; the creation play in this morning’s worship service was lovely. The flowers, colorful and bright, stood tall, blooming and blushing. The birds flapped their wings. The fish swooshed, the mice crawled, the frogs hopped. The apple tree, its branches menacing, taunted. The young man who played [...]
Today is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Every year, I re-read the Gettysburg Address in honor of Lincoln’s birthday. Have you read it lately? Well, if you aren’t a complete history nerd like me, you may not know that this little speech was given at a ceremony to dedicate a cemetary where soldiers who fought in the [...]
The day Margaret, my youngest, started kindergarten I wrote the following. It’s an over-emotional, sappy testimony to empty-nest syndrome that showed up 12 years too early. But, it kind of fits my mood this week–as my youngest approaches her 11th birthday this Friday. That’s the age, by the way, that she will be when she [...]
“I know someone who will take care of me,” my grandmother told us from the shelter of my mother’s arms. We’d been picking on her—trying to awaken the feisty grandmama we used to have before dementia kidnapped her. She had had about enough of our shenanigans when my mother walked through the room. Grandmama pushed [...]
“In the year King Uzziah died. . .” Remember the year? It was an awful year. For the people of Judea, it was the year King Uzziah died. King Uzziah had been such a great king. During his reign, they were prosperous and peace ruled in their land. But when he died—well it felt like [...]
It’s January 3nd, do you know where your resolve is? Each year, my family makes New Year’s Resolutions. (Okay, I announce that we are making New Year’s Resolutions; my 14 year old daughter sighs—with more emphasis than should ever be given a sigh–moans, rolls her eyes, and then I go into a long explanation of [...]