Bloom Where You’re Planted!
(This post has been modified slightly, having first been published in our local newspaper, The Mountaineer, on August 12, 2020.) As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and…
The Bridges We’ve Crossed by Taking the Plunge
Happy 31st anniversary, dear husband! We’ve come so far, have we not? From the kids playing marbles and riding bikes to the adults we are today, we’re here to help our adult children (older now than we were when we took that plunge in 1989)…
O Happy Day!–A Room of Your Own!
This is the day that the LORD has made! We rejoice and are glad in it (Psalm 118:24–Adapted)! Dearest Daughter, We’ve been preparing a room for you, the room that you chose now that your brothers are no longer at home. “I want a room…
Wisteria, Enamelware, and Wee Grandma Alice
She is clothed with strength and dignity and laughs without fear of the future (Proverbs 31:25). “How tall am I now, Grandma?” Though my paternal grandparents didn’t live far from us, weeks might pass without us seeing them, and a lot of growing can be…
Love Spread Thick–A Recipe for Healing Hate
Hatred stirs up dissension, but LOVE covers over all wrongs (Proverbs 10:12–NIV). Basil (Ocimum basilicum)–HATE (From The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffebaugh). ******* Taking spoon, we spread the basil-based pesto thick on crackers and bread, taste the slightly bitter flavor and … Mmm–savor! Fresh cut from…
Another Blessing from My Other Grandpa
A new command I give you: LOVE ONE ANOTHER. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another (John 13:34, 35–NIV). Does Grandpa know Jesus? It was an earnest…
Grandpa’s Blessing
“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, “This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be…
For Our “Doctor” Daddies
***Although this was written twenty years ago to honor my dad’s retirement from thirty years of work as a general surgeon in Miami County, Ohio, it applies not only to him but also to my dear husband who is also a compassionate physician and wonderful…
Fear Not, For He Knows Every Hair on My Head
When I am afraid, I will trust in You (Psalm 56:3). Though voted “Best Hair” his senior year of high school, Bill began losing his the moment he started college. Thus, he resorted to shaving his head some years later, a look that is quite…
Breathing Heaven’s Breath and Bouncing Superballs
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you… And He who formed you…: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine (Isaiah 43:1–NKJV). Two men–one black, one white–who never met on this earth are sharing the joys…