This week my husband lost a relative who will be dearly missed. At every reunion he sought this man out, sat and shared stories with him for hours, and went home rejuvenated by his time in the man’s company. The man always had a story to tell, a testimony to share, or a bit of […]
Faith Matters
When A Kitten Cries
I confess. When a kitten meows mournfully outside my window, or from a tree in the yard, I’m putty in its paws. My nurturing heart races to find the source of the wail. The kitten knows its spell over me, staring at me with those wide innocent eyes, that sweet little chin full of […]
Spring Arrives Sunday
Though where you live will determine how spring arrives on Sunday, the day represents a benchmark for the change of season. Some of you are still ankle deep in snow while others are donning t-shirts and flip-flops. All sorts of astronomical explanations abound for the phenomenon, but it’s safe to say spring is here. The […]
Choosing a Clean Sweep for 2022
When 2022 rolled around I wanted change in my life. The years 2020 and 2021 had taken their toll. I felt burned out, my muse struggled, and my words wouldn’t come. My blog suffered for lack of content, but my mind had literally come to a standstill. Nothing found inspiration, my writing dead in the […]
Debut Author Emily Sara Smucker
This past week I had the privilege of reading a non-fiction book by debut author Emily Sara Smucker. The book, The Highway and Me and My Earl Grey Tea, is an account of Emily’s year traveling across the country visiting a different Mennonite community each month. At every stop she experienced something unique, seeking what […]
When in Babylon
I’ve always held a quiet reverence for Daniel of the Bible, who, along with his friends, was taken captive and transported to Babylon under the rule of king Nebuchadnezzar—young Hebrews suddenly thrust into a culture quite different from their own. The foods, the rules, the dress were all strange to them. Yet they refused to […]
An Autumn Hello
This week we bid goodbye to summer. I confess I’m not sorry to see it go. This series of days between June and September has been unusually hot, long, and dry. Oregon summers typically aren’t like that, so enduring this non-ending chain of boiling afternoons and humid evenings has taxed all of us. I’m hoping […]
When Life Ends Too Soon
This week our family lost a gentle giant. Our nephew succumbed to pneumonia after surviving a bout of Covid. He will be missed. A big man with a bigger heart, he stood every inch of six feet four. He owned his own business and was well respected in his community. He and his wife had […]
Life After Trouble
When my daughter first graduated high school, she continued her art studies with a private tutor who was a student at the University of Oregon. Instead of going home to New Hampshire at the end of each spring term, the tutor opted to stay because she said Oregon summers were delightful. I wonder what she’d […]
A Saturday Waffle Tale
This morning I made waffles for Saturday breakfast. I choose this day because I have a little more time to prepare and waffles tend to be more complicated than a bowl of cereal. I’ve done it so often my family expects their weekend waffle as if it were a long standing tradition. I like […]