The house I grew up in was built by my great-grandfather in 1902. It had many tiny rooms and a dirt basement. My grandfather, my father, my siblings, and I were all raised in that house. Now my nephew lives there with his wife and children...
As a farm family, we always had a dog and several cats. They lived outdoors. I heard that town kids got to have house pets, so I began a campaign for an indoor cat. This was quickly squelched by my mother, who said, “Why would I want a...
In the middle of a wakeful night, I crept down the dark hall to the spare bedroom, where I could turn on a light and read myself back into sleepiness without disturbing my husband. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten that a few days earlier I'd...
One of our seminary professors often said, “All truth is God's truth,” and its corollary, “Truth is where you find it.” We like to divide life into the sacred and the secular. That's a useful distinction in...
I used to be one of those people who undecorate the house the day after Christmas. The tree was stripped and banished, the manger scene went into its box, the outdoor lights were unplugged until we could get around to taking them down. My...
People grieve at Christmas. When we flip our calendars over to December, whatever difficulty, grief, or trouble we're dealing with doesn't suddenly disappear in honor of the season. The parties, feel-good movies (here's looking at you...
December, the season of twinkly lights, is paradoxically dark. The days are short. Darkness comes too early, while sunrise comes too late. It’s dark when I wake up, and dark again when I’m cooking dinner. It makes me sad.As a child, I...
I saw this the other day - “It's not happy people who are thankful, but thankful people who are happy.” Great line. What does it mean? “Now Thank We All Our God” comes to mind, the classic Thanksgiving hymn. The...
“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 106:1) Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I love getting together with family and sharing a meal...