He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
There is nothing better than playing hide and seek with a toddler! When it's your turn to hide, they stare at you wide eyed as they count to ten, skipping a few numbers here and there for good measure. And when it's their turn to hide, they shout, "Here I am!" Or they simply stand... Continue Reading →
In his memoir, On Writing, Stephen King expresses an aversion to adverbs. He does so unequivocally (sorry, Mr. King), saying, “F…k adverbs!” I read Mr. King's book as an assignment for a class called Writing for Teachers and sadly the only thing I have retained is this colorful phrase about a certain part of speech... Continue Reading →
When I was five years old, I was given my first Bible. It was a King James version with tiny print and a surplus of thee's and thou's. However, it did have about a dozen illustrations which depicted dramatic biblical scenes. There was Noah's ark tossing precariously on massive waves and Samson straining between two... Continue Reading →
Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, describes one fan who paid him the ultimate compliment. Don't you just love that sequence? He saw it. He loved it. He ate it. This is actually a biblical concept. Both the Old Testament prophet, Ezekiel, and the disciple, John, were instructed to "eat" a scroll.... Continue Reading →
I was working on my tennis serve. My husband stood on the other side of the court, giving me pointers on how to hit a slice that could be (his word) "unreturn-able". He placed a water bottle in the service box so I could aim toward the receiver's forehand side - short and wide. The... Continue Reading →
My son and daughter-in-law have an endearing way of waking their twins up from a nap or a night's sleep. They gently knock on the bedroom door and pause before entering. Even when the girls were infants, they knocked first, and I half expected one of the babies to announce, "Come in!" It reminds me... Continue Reading →
Do you remember the Brady Bunch episode where Jan complains, "All I hear around here is Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" She can't stand that her perfect older sister gets all the attention. Martha, a close friend of Jesus, is a bit like Jan Brady. She is slaving away in the kitchen, preparing a meal for Jesus... Continue Reading →
The documentary, 100 Foot Wave, depicts the quest of certain surfers to find and ride the biggest waves on the planet. At one point in the film, they describe what it's like when you fall off the board and are churned by a monster wave, not knowing when the blender will spurt you out. You... Continue Reading →
We were driving home from visiting family when I realized my phone was not in my purse. It was exactly where I had left it - on a coffee table next to my adorable grand babies who were adorned in full princess attire and whom I was trying to video. "Should we go back?" my... Continue Reading →
Last year our Bible teacher shared a video showing sheep responding to the voice of their shepherd. When other shepherds tried to lure them, not one in the herd even glanced up from grass-munching. But how they baa-ed when a familiar voice called their name. And not only that, they trotted over, forgetting the enticement... Continue Reading →
My two-year old granddaughter was settling into her crib for a midday nap. Hop, the bunny, was in her arms and she was wrapped into her zippy sleep sack. Her mom had just finished reading Winnie the Pooh's Honey Trouble and we were tiptoeing out of the room, when her sleepy voice proclaimed, "Too much..."... Continue Reading →
I can't sing. Really, I can't. Some people say that and then belt out Happy Birthday on key and pitch perfect (whatever those phrases mean). I on the other hand open my mouth and something other than singing comes out. I first became aware of not being a music prodigy when my fourth grade class... Continue Reading →
When I was in high school, I fancied myself an intellectual by reading (skimming, really) the existentialist authors of the day, John Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. At the wise age of 17, I pondered the big questions of life and spirituality and soon it was clear I had it all figured out. I began... Continue Reading →
"Can I have a running hug?" The toddler looks up from her toy box, turns to her dad, and then runs with wild abandon into his open arms. She is lifted up, held tight, and rocked. It lasts but a moment, as toddlers are notoriously busy and she squirms to resume her investigation at hand... Continue Reading →
I was 10 years old... too old for a babysitter (I thought) but too young to be left alone in the evening, (so my parents thought.) They went to dinner parties at least three times a week, leaving me with our senior border collie, Shep, who barked at nothing and emitted gross smells of which... Continue Reading →
Shadows and Shelters 