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 […]
Christmas
Where will Christmas find you?
I posed that question to the bank teller this week. She groaned, shook her head, and broke into a dismayed laugh. “I think I’ll fake the flu. I can take my time after the holiday and do it right.” Not the answer I expected. I asked the checker at the grocery store. “I’m ready for […]
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When Holidays Hurt
My sister died July 1, 2018. No warning. No extended illness. No freak accident. The only memory that remains is the frantic call from my brother-in-law to tell me the news. Like a pebble tossed on a lake that leaves a brief ripple upon the water, then disappears, the event passed. No goodbyes. No closure. […]
Monday is . . .
President’s Day? Or is it Presidents’ Day? Presidents Day? Washington and Lincoln Day? In case readers think I can’t decide, I’m only listing the variations I discovered while researching the third Monday in February. According to different sources George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the most well remembered and most celebrated leaders of our nation. […]
Mary Still Knows
I first heard the Christmas song, Mary, Did You Know?, when my infant son was six months old. I was moved by the words of the songwriter when he asked “When you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God?” Like all new mothers I remembered the overwhelming awe of staring into the face […]
A Different Black Friday
I skipped Black Friday. I’ve done my share of after-Thanksgiving shopping in the past. When my children were young, buying toys and clothes at holiday prices helped provide a more substantial Christmas. I’d rise before dawn and slip out while my family still slept. I’d return in time to make breakfast. The fun of seeing […]
Are You Ready for Christmas?
I posed that question to the bank teller this week. She groaned, shook her head, and broke into a dismayed laugh. “I think I’ll fake the flu. I can take my time after the holiday and do it right.” Not the answer I expected. I asked the checker at the grocery store. “I’m ready for […]
- Faith Matters
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Making Sense of that Which Makes NO Sense
“Fear not, for I bring you news that shall be to all people. A savior is born which is Christ the Lord.” Yesterday the story of Christmas was enacted by our junior church ministry. Sixty-five children clamored onto the platform, more than forty of them dressed in matching t-shirts. Tiered smallest to tallest on risers, […]