This weekend my sister, the cute little girl in the front of the family photo above, would have turned another year older. I would have purchased a card and put money in it, then sent it as a surprise to her mailbox. I wrote about her untimely death in July, so I won’t repeat my words. Instead, […]
Faith Matters
A Kite on the Wind releases
Not too many years ago our city of Springfield, Oregon was embroiled in a controversy over allowing a new medical facility, Peace Health Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend, to be built near the juncture of I-5 and the city limits, not far from a community hospital already serving the community. Riverbend won the dispute […]
The Great Labor Day Divide
Labor Day has always been an oxymoron to me. On a day dedicated to the working man, no one works. Unless you have a yard, a house, and a family—then you spend the day working on those or for those. Your day off really isn’t. For some it is the last weekend for a family […]
Back From Conference
Uplifted. Refreshed. Inspired. This past week I spent the better part of four days attending the Oregon Christian Writers summer conference in Portland, Oregon. Theme for the week was Opening Doors and centered around the scripture of Colossians 4:2 (NIV), which reads: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that […]
Off to Conference
Two years ago this week I attended the Oregon Christian Writer’s conference in Portland, Oregon. There I met my then-to-be-publisher Miralee Ferrell, of Mountain Brook Ink and agreed to write a three-book series—a happy ending to a long journey of attending conferences and seeking publishing houses. This week I will again attend the conference, bringing […]
Launching A Book–part 2
The cover has been revealed and the book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com beginning August 12. A Kite on the Wind will tug at your heart–a grieving widower, a schoolteacher with a heart, and a set of feisty twins. Set in Newport, Oregon like the first in the series, An Anchor On Her Heart, […]
Reunion Time
I’ve always enjoyed family reunions. As a child I remember anticipating the summer reunion every July at Jasper Park. As a fifth generation descendant of Cornelius Hills, who settled in the Willamette Valley in 1848 and who developed one of the first 640-acre land claims in the area, I was expected to come and join […]
Be My Neighbor?
My neighbor’s wife died in 2009, leaving him not only a widower, but without children, totally alone. We’d known the couple for at least twenty-five years and seeing him so isolated and without nearby family bothered us. My husband suggested we provide a meal a couple of times a week to let the man know […]
Forty-three and counting
I remember the first thing he said to me. The Fourth of July had dawned and as a member of the staff at the church where I worked I was expected to attend the annual barbecue and family picnic at the church’s campgrounds. I found members of my singles college and career Sunday School class […]
Without a Goodbye
I’ll miss her sense of humor. This past week I lost my younger sister. Her death was not expected—in fact it probably shouldn’t have happened. She’d been to her physician for treatment of an acute case of bronchitis and had come home with prescriptions to help her heal. She never got to take them. Her […]