My mother gave gifts based on what she wanted to do.
She might zero in on a particular grandchild for Christmas and do something really special for them – like build a doll house.
Oh, everyone got gifts, don’t misunderstand. But, my mom thought about the person she was gifting, reflected on their personality, added some of her own, threw it all in a bag, shook it up, tossed it out, and…VOILA! Your present from my mother magically appeared. Continue reading Packaged in Love
In my leadership classes and student council, I would share with them a short video about how giving one degree more can make an enormous impact in their lives and the lives of others. It went something like this: Continue reading 1 Extra Degree
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash, (Matthew 7:24-27).
We lived in southwest Missouri for about 20 years. The original store of a large outdoor retail chain was less than a 2 hour drive from our house. Being outdoor enthusiasts, we went there many times. It is not just a store where you can purchase fishing lures, it’s a tourist attraction full of large aquariums, over-the-top décor, weaponry collections, restaurants, etc. When they opened their wildlife conservation center and aquarium (much bigger than the ones they have inside the main store) we decided to take the kids up and check it out. Continue reading Where the Wild Things Are
Several years ago, I attended a professional development event at a nearby school district. As heads of the math and social studies departments, respectively, my best friend Darbi and I were chosen as part of the team that was sent. When we broke for lunch, Darbi knew where the restaurant was that we wanted to go to, however, I was driving so she was going to give me directions as we went. I approached a 4-way stop with many cars waiting in all directions. While we waited our turn to be first at the stop sign, I asked her which way we needed to turn. The conversation went like this: Continue reading Spiritual Dyslexia
I am a great lover of Renaissance art. As a teacher, this time period was one of my favorites to cover in my upper-level elective class. I focused almost exclusively on 44 pieces I had chosen to weave the tale of this time line through. Continue reading Sculpting in the Storm
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, (Colossians 3:23).
I am hard pressed to find a better example on earth, during my lifetime, of someone living out this scripture more than my father. Continue reading A Great Physician
One night, we were awakened by the ringing of the telephone. My husband, Darryl, got up to answer it in the living room. I was not fully awake, but I was very much aware that it was deep in the night. Phone calls this late are never good news. I lay there struggling with the reality of that and trying to pretend that maybe the phone hadn’t rang, or somehow it would just be a wrong number, or some other benign happening. Continue reading What a Relief!
I was at the store just a couple of days ago, and a lady in the aisle next to me was talking on her cell phone. She was talking to a man. How do I know that? Well…she was using the speaker phone feature. Now, I’m not an eaves dropper by nature, but she was talking on speaker phone in a public place. It wasn’t exactly a private conversation. Continue reading Hell is Always Open
My husband and I went on a trip to Colorado last fall. This was my first visit to that state, outside of the Denver airport. I was excited to see the changes in topography as we traveled along. We left the lush, green hills and clear, sparkling rivers of southwest Missouri, discovered the endless beauty in the flat plains of Kansas, and slowly crept up into the high plains of eastern Colorado where I spotted the first antelope I had ever seen in the wild. Continue reading The Balance of Nature
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