My daughter and her friend had it all mapped out, giving me direct instructions: “As soon as the standing ovations begin, we need to bolt out that side door.” The girls were determined to be front and center when the cast of Hello Dolly appeared at the stage door after the show. Their plan was…
He stood in the median of a busy shopping center intersection, keeping his head down while holding his sign up: Homeless and harmless. Anything helps. Needed— A job. Prayer. Shoes or boots size 11.5. Things to help keep warm this winter. His name is Marvin. A steady flow of traffic raced past him as he…
In the corner of my laundry room, a small white basket houses all the clothes that need a little extra love. Gentle cycle, air dry or tumble on low kind of clothes. My family tends to be super casual, so it takes a while for this handle with care basket to fill up. I recently…
Aw. Isn’t that a cute picture? Our daughter snapped this shot during an annual family Christmas excursion. It even made the cut for a Facebook post about our day. But there’s a little detail that does not show up in the picture. My husband and I spent much of that day (and a couple days…
Our Christmas tree is a beautiful mess. The strand of red, wooden beads is a smidge too short, the star is always crooked, and the ornaments are a hodgepodgey collection of crafts, gifts, and memories of places we have visited. The tree in my childhood home is quite another story. It is my mother’s masterpiece….
‘Tis the season to make lists. Christmas card lists. Grocery lists. Gift idea lists. Packing lists. I even considered making a list of all the lists. The struggle is real. The very first list I made this month was a quick, generalized reminder of holiday related tasks. Just to get my head in the game….
Like any sentimental pack rat, I have keepsakes dating back to elementary school. Hilarious letters discretely passed during history class. Endless photos complete with the negatives. Various objects that touched my heart and landed in a box labeled Keep Forever. So when I wanted to find a specific prop for a speaking event, I knew…
Every Thursday morning I drive past the quaint neighborhood baseball field. And every Thursday morning they are there. Without fail. Ball caps covering silver hair. Worn baseball mitts in hand. Some players donning full uniforms—complete with old school stirrups. They round the bases in low gear, but their youthful spirits fill the air. I can’t…
April seemed like a great month to plan a camping trip for our Girl Scout troop. And we did have a heck of a good time. Minus the overnight temperature. It was twenty seven degrees. Twenty seven. After hundreds of counted sheep, recurrent visits from shivering girls, and a record number of tosses and turns,…
“It felt like coming home.” These words were spoken by my Bible study leader last week. And I felt precisely the same way. For ten glorious years, a sisterhood of women from my church met every Tuesday morning to grow in faith and do life together. It was a sacred, massively enriching time. But as…
