My grandson is learning to walk. As he toddles forward, he pauses every few steps to clap for himself. He is also fond of holding a yellow microfiber cloth while walking, as one never knows when the floor might need cleaning. For me, the funniest sight is when he drops the cloth and tries to... Continue Reading →
Loosening my Grip
Given my crippling fear of flying, it is hard to imagine that in my early 30s I actually jumped out of a plane. It was a crisp fall day amid the cornfields of rural Illinois, when my friend, Gina, and I were suited up with a toggle line that would open our parachutes once we... Continue Reading →
A Celebration of Weakness
When God told Moses that he was the one God had chosen to lead the Israelites out of slavery and into the promised land, how did Moses respond? He basically countered God with everything he had. Who was he to do such a thing? He had spent the last few decades as a lowly shepherd... Continue Reading →
God Sent Me a Card
Well, not exactly. On a recent Sunday afternoon an Amazon box was plopped at our front door. When I opened it, I was disappointed. I meant to order a box of individual note cards with Bible verses on them. Instead, what Amazon thought I wanted was one single giant card with one giant verse. I... Continue Reading →
A Trust Fall
Last Sunday during church, Wendy (pseudonym) leaned over to me and whispered a prayer request. Her three-month old grandson was in the hospital, struggling with a respiratory virus. "Please pray!" Then she did something unexpected. She put her hand over her mouth and said these words into her hand, "Lord, I trust you for baby... Continue Reading →
Held
Natalie Grant has a song called Held which reminds us that even when life is at its lowest, we have the promise of the hand of God holding us up. When I am feeling low, I think of verses that support this message. In Isaiah 41, God declares, "For I am the LORD, your God... Continue Reading →
Foundations
It was October 12, 1964, and we had just moved from Long Island to Jupiter, Florida. I was a fourth grader at Palm Beach Day School, some 45 minutes from our home, struggling to make friends among the self-assured girls with their beachy blond hair (mine being brown and with bangs cut by my mother... Continue Reading →
Adverbs
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 →
Martha, Martha, Martha
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 →
My Precious
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 →
For me?
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 →
Sheltering in Grace
When I was 17 I hitchhiked through Europe with my brother. It was the 1970s and, as strange as it sounds, my parents seemed OK with this. My brother's hair was well past his shoulders and I was doing my best to look like Peggy Lipton from the Mod Squad or Susan Day from the... Continue Reading →
Praise: The Antidote for Sadness
Jeanne and I used to laugh when classroom teachers were smothered in flowers during Teacher Appreciation Week, or when they amassed stacks of Starbucks gift cards during the weeks leading up to Christmas. As reading teachers working in small intervention groups, we might have received a candle that looked like it had been lit, an apple-pin slightly tarnished,... Continue Reading →
Breathing through Anxiety
When I was a teacher, the first week of August brought heart pounding anxiety. I envisioned new initiatives and curriculum, new kids and colleagues, meetings that would entail post-it notes and sharing-out. My anxiety had a voice -- no matter how many classes you take, or books you read, or years under your belt, your... Continue Reading →
Even Though’s and Yet’s
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death... Even though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea... Even though a host encamp against me... OK, I am not keen on ANY of these circumstances befalling ANY of us. And I am certainly opposed to being thrown into a... Continue Reading →
Shadows and Shelters 