Author: Tricia Hanks

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Most Important Thing My Mother Ever Taught Me

Not every lesson my mother tried to teach me went the way she planned.  One such time happened when I was about 15 years old.  Mom called my little sister, Mary (who was 12 at the time), and I into the room and told us to sit down…she wanted to have a talk with us.  I remember vividly, my mind racing back and forth, wondering what in the world she wanted to talk to us about.  Had something happened?  Was someone sick?  What is going on?  It was a bit odd to say the least.   Continue reading The Most Important Thing My Mother Ever Taught Me

Posted on by — Leave a comment

This Little Light of Mine

One of my favorite times in church as a child, is when we would sing songs in our Sunday school.  Often, we would perform one as a special for the congregation before the preaching service began.  These children’s church songs usually had hand gestures or other body movements to go along with the words, signifying the ideas in the verses.  I particularly loved, This Little Light of Mine.  The version we sang went like this: Continue reading This Little Light of Mine

Posted on by — 2 Comments

He Will Come to Us Like the Rain

I was raised near the South Canadian River in a small town in Oklahoma.  My family spent a lot of time on that river, noodling and swimming and searching for morels.  I have always understood the power of its raging waters after the spring floods.  A fact that was made all too clear to me when my brother, Robin, took me with him one day to hunt for arrowheads.  There had just been a heavy rain, and he knew this was a great time to find them.  Farmers had just plowed their fields for the spring planting, and the rain would help expose any treasure we sought. Continue reading He Will Come to Us Like the Rain

Posted on by — Leave a comment

How Much Does it Cost to Save the Whole World?

Roman Cruelty

The word “passion,” as most people know it today, comes from a French word associated with a state or outburst of intense feelings.  However, the word is also associated with the final hours of Jesus’ life on earth.  That “passion” stems from Latin and means suffering or enduring.  It is most definitely what Christ did.  He suffered more than we care to imagine.  The passion of Christ begins with His time in the Garden of Gethsemane, where He began to really feel the heavy burden of what He must do, through His death on the cross.  Jesus suffered so many things in those last hours: the betrayal of Judas, abandonment and denial by His disciples, arrest, trials, mockery, shame, and torture.  These things He endured voluntarily. Continue reading How Much Does it Cost to Save the Whole World?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

The Deliberate Life of Jesus Christ

I came across a little chart recently, that had a break-down of about 9 well-known religious leaders in the world today.  I won’t name any names here.  It doesn’t really matter the who…it’s the what that I’m more concerned with.  I’ll get to that in a minute.  The chart showed the amount of money each of these leaders and their ministries earned in a year.  Let’s just say it was quite a bit more than the teacher’s salary I earn in Missouri.  I can’t adequately assess these leaders solely based on how much they earn because I have no information as to how much of that money they give to God – and there is the what. Continue reading The Deliberate Life of Jesus Christ

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Life Lessons from The Wizard of Oz

I saw The Wizard of Oz for the first time when I was about 3 years old.  The movie had a powerful impact on me.  I was mesmerized by it.  I loved the singing, adventure, and friendships.  So many scenes captivated me.  I remember being very upset when Dorothy was trapped in the witch’s castle and the hour glass was almost empty.  I was crying from fear she was going to die.  I also cried, a time after this, when I watched The Cowboys and John Wayne was killed.  I thought he was really dead.  It was a relief to learn we don’t really kill people in movies; they’re just acting.  So many things about The Wizard of Oz impacted my life, including the overarching theme:  there’s no place like home. Continue reading Life Lessons from The Wizard of Oz

Posted on by — Leave a comment

A Divine Choice

One of my favorite stories to share with my history students in class has always been that of the Prussian ruler, Frederick the Great.  Frederick ruled in the 1700s.  He didn’t have a good relationship with his father.  I like to tell this story because a lot of teenagers can relate to difficult times in their relationships with their own fathers.  It also helps me connect with them the fact that they cannot blame their behavior on their past.  Regardless of the circumstances in which they were raised, or of any event they may have experienced, the decision is theirs, and theirs alone, how they behave.  They are 100% responsible for their actions.  End. Of. Story. Continue reading A Divine Choice

Posted on by — 4 Comments

My Dream Home

For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

2 Corinthians 5:1

I’ve seen a lot of houses in my life.  There are even shows on TV celebrating everything from the most over-the-top luxurious to the latest craze…tiny houses.  My own experience ranged from the stately 3-story home of my grandparents (dad’s side) to the little more than a shack that my Mamaw & Papaw (mom’s side) lived in.  My grandparents house is something I still dream about.  It was so big!  There were so many things to do and see.  Visiting there was like a wonderland adventure.   Continue reading My Dream Home

Posted on by — 2 Comments

41 Hours to the Cross

More than 15 years ago now, I spent many days in a hospital room taking care of my mother when her time on earth was coming to an end.  I slept in the bed beside her, fed her, bathed her, washed her hair, helped her brush her teeth, massaged her neck, talked to her, watched over her, and tried to comfort her during her pain and confusion.  The emotions we all experienced during this time ran the gamut.  My mother had not gone into this hospital to die.  It was just another step in the process of getting her better, or so we thought.  None of us, me or my three siblings, misunderstood the severity of the cancer that ravaged her body.  Yet we were slow to accept the truth about how little time she had left.  The reality of that fact would weigh heavier on me than anything I had ever faced before.  So heavy, I all but crumbled beneath it. Continue reading 41 Hours to the Cross

Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Labyrinth of Life

This past summer, my husband and I went on a little vacation, and by that I mean I went with him to work for a few days.  He travels a lot with his job.  We spent a couple of those days in Kansas City and were able to attend a Royals baseball game.  We hadn’t been anywhere in quite a while, and even though it was a “working holiday”, I was pretty excited about getting to spend time with my husband and laying out at the hotel pool while he worked.  The day we departed, he asked if there was anything particular I wanted to do while we were in Kansas City.  I had been wanting to go to the IKEA that had opened there for a while so I told him about that.  He didn’t really know what IKEA was and thought this was a questionable request.  No more was said about IKEA for the next two days, and I figured by his dismissive response earlier that we would not be making a visit. Continue reading The Labyrinth of Life