“JAMS, I need you to stop doing that.” “I need you to stop doing that NOW!” “OKAY, I AM COMING TO HELP YOU TO STOP DOING THAT!” I cannot tell you how often I say these exact phrases each day. Life with a curious, intelligent, and confident child can have its challenges as they exercise…
Category: Life’s Parables
Jesus taught in a way that brought his lessons to life by using everyday things and happenings. In this section you will find many of the stories he has used to teach me to see his ways more clearly so that I can live life more fully in his ways. I hope you glean something from these stories. They have taught me a lot.
Go Ahead, Take a Bite
Give it a taste and see if you like it. I have said that countless times over the years to children (and sometimes adults) that have sat around my table. The “taste and see” encouragement usually comes when the groan escapes their lips brought on by unfamiliar food. It would take a bite to know…
Sow Loud!
Happy New Year! Here we are in the season of pondering what life would look like if we made a few changes to better ourselves. I do it. January brings the idea of the promise of a new way of doing things. I always tend to think of losing the holiday celebration weight and moving…
When Anxiety Stops By
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.Psalms 94:19 NIV Anxiety. Its weight and crazy tentacles reach into every area of life strangling our senses. When in the midst of anxiety, life feels hopeless and unchangeable. It demands our attention and wears us out lugging it around. I love that the Psalmist…
The Patience of the Father
It was one of THOSE moments. All I could do was yell when I saw the “artwork” my daughter, Jayme, had added to our bedroom décor. Mad was an understatement when seeing the one thousandth installment in her series of works entitled Scribbles, this one in permanent marker. I was so angry I had to…
Splish, Splash, Dunk
When We Go a Wandering This week’s Sunday drive landed us in Pineville, Missouri. We visited there before and were drawn back by the Elk River by dreams of someday floating on it again. Since Jayme is only two, it may be a while. We need to do some research on the safety of canoeing…
Just A Few Words
And So, Begins a New Year At least that is how I feel in September. Summer break is over. (I can’t even believe how fast it has gone.) With the change of the season, another change comes in our family. After a year and a half, we delivered our granddaughter, Hero, to her home and…
Tender Mercies
Our time of fostering our little June Bug is coming to a close. I am so happy that my granddaughter, Carrie (June’s mama), has done the hard work of putting a sober life into action. She has gone to classes, met with counselors, followed treatment plans, and met every requirement the county has demanded. She…
Whose Crazy Idea Was This?
Nearly all the best things that came to me in life have been unexpected, unplanned by me. Carl Sandburg Hey there! Long time, no see. For me, it has been a long time since I’ve been able to write—nearly seven months to be exact. Putting words onto the page has been something that could not…
Evidence of Love
My six-year-old granddaughter, Brielle, never shows up empty-handed when she comes to visit. Many times, she’s the first of her tribe of seven into the house. She always rushes to the kitchen where she knows she’ll find me and delivers her latest note or picture. This week, it was a drawing of me holding her…