Were you one of us? On Monday September 19, an estimated two million mourners lined the streets of London to say goodbye to the late queen, Elizabeth II, reigning British monarch for seventy years. Another four billion people worldwide viewed the funeral on television. The celebration of this woman’s life impacted as many people in […]
Faith Matters
God Saved the Queen
This week the world received the unhappy news that Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning sovereign over Great Britain for the past seventy years, had died. I wasn’t sure how to process the information. The queen had been on her throne for as long as I could remember, but I had never met her. She […]
Labor Day-Marking a Season of Change
The first Monday in September was officially designated a day of rest for American workers by five states in 1887. Prior to that, protests demanding better working conditions for employees were first recorded in New York City in 1882. My home state of Oregon was among the first five states to recognize the need […]
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When Does This Book Become the Last?
I didn’t set out to write seven books. In fact, as a trained journalist, I didn’t believe I was capable of writing one. My specialty was creating four hundred word essays in under fifteen minutes. That’s what journalists do in order to make a publishing deadline. Write quick, brisk, concise copy for a waiting audience. […]
And Still I Do
Forty seven years ago today July 18, 1975, I promised to love, honor and cherish a man I had come to respect and admire during a tumultuous time of upheaval for both of us. I won’t lie—our courtship traveled over rocky ground as we got to know each other. I was impulsive and stubborn and […]
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This Day Finally Came
I remember writing letters to congressmen. I carried a sign and joined others along the main thoroughfares of my town protesting abortion. I drove to rallies in larger cities. I walked my neighborhood with a petition to put a bill on the ballot. But the force of the abortion movement remained a formidable foe. My […]
Another Trip Around the Sun
Last week I turned a year older. Another trip around the sun completed. My left knee woke me that morning as though putting a time stamp on the day. A reminder that with increased age comes surprises of a physical nature—not all of them welcome. What new adventures will this year bring? I have known […]
Not the End of the Story
Now that the chocolate bunnies and candy eggs are eaten, the hard-boiled eggs made into sandwich spread, and the ads on television have turned toward Mother’s Day, our culture has tidily tucked away all remnants of Easter until it returns April 9, 2023. The story of the resurrection, though, didn’t end when Jesus walked out […]
They thought themselves abandoned
Scattered. Alone. Abandoned. They’d seen their leader arrested. Watched him be tried. Saw him nailed to a cross. Heard his final cries. Witnessed his death. Now what? Disillusioned, they waited. He’d said he’d never leave them or forsake them. But they were left behind. Until Sunday morning, when Mary Magdalene, the other Mary and Joanna […]
Hosanna to the King
For me, the event of Palm Sunday is a sobering one. I imagine Jesus at the top of the Mount of Olives near Beth Phage looking down at Jerusalem, knowing that entering the city will be His final act. He won’t leave alive. God sent Him to earth for a reason. To fulfill his destiny […]