The gifts are wrapped and tagged. Cookies are baked and decorated. I’ve watched Christmas made-for-TV movies until even I’ve had enough…and that’s saying something! Yes, I’m one of those people. You know, the ones who play Christmas carols in July and put up their...
What puts a song in your heart? Your favorite playlist?Your wedding song?Christmas carols? One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is the music. You may be tired of hearing Christmas carols that have already been playing since Halloween. For many, the joy of...
I love Christmas. The music, lights, and decorations. Trees with their ornaments, Christmas villages, and especially nativity scenes. Of all my Christmas decorations, my favorite is a large tabletop display that includes a manger set in the midst of a hustling,...
You may be reading this on Thanksgiving, but complaints about Christmas already abound. Have you heard them? Christmas has become too commercial! Actually, this one isn’t really new. Remember the 1947 classic movie, Miracle on 34th Street? More than 70 years ago,...
Regardless of your political persuasion or opinion of the author of a book by a similar title, I’ve learned “it takes a village” for adults, too. It’s been more than a year since I experienced the most significant loss of my life. The loss of my better half left me...
Some say a weed is just a plant flourishing where you don’t want it to grow. The plant I gazed at certainly fit that description. Its tender green leaves and slim stem contrasted with the smoky-blue Florida sky as it grew in the gutter on my roof. Definitely a place I...
Ghosts and witches. Jack-o’-lanterns and black cats. Scary masks and things that go bump in the night. Typical frightening Halloween fare. But the day is not called Scary-ween. So what is the “hallow” in Halloween? Hallow is not a frequently used word these days. When...
It seems children’s entertainment is becoming darker. Movies and video games seem to be pushing children to embrace adult situations. And it's all in the name of being resourceful—of not needing adults (especially parents) to help them solve their problems. On the...
It was just a tiny spot recognized by the scan—a little more than a centimeter. But as soon as it was identified, the medical community sprang into action. More scans, tests, chemotherapy, radiation. Months of treatment based on the knowledge that this one spot was...
Pocketing and cookie jarring. To paraphrase a line from The Princess Bride, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” One thing is for sure: neither phrase means what I thought they meant! Both terms are now used to describe dating trends. Pocketing occurs...
Spiritual Heroes and Practical Obedience Have you heard the story about a man who escapes his boring life by...
Spiritual Growth When God is Silent I don’t usually do well with long periods of silence . . . especially when...
Should We “Celebrate” Memorial Day? Celebrate. Sacrifice. Two words we don’t usually pair together. Still, two...