Last week, we were all in awe as we saw images of a new planet being born: PDS 70, the new baby in the solar system. It was incredible to see the world focused on our God, still at work on His world, creatively honing and adding, when often all we see are the things ...
Letting go of kids exposes a raw place in my soul, and an unyielding lump in my throat. I cried every time they started a new phase of life: preschool, kindergarten, high school, college, marriage. Something inside a parent dies a little every time a child crosses another threshold. And yet, deep down, we know ...
We recited the numbers every day in 5th grade science class as soon as we entered Mr. Vickers’ classroom. He would ask, “How far away is the sun?” We would respond in singsong unison, “93 million miles.” Then, “How fast does light travel?” Followed by, “186,000 miles per second.” I had no idea what those ...
I don’t like surprises. I like to pick out my own gifts, plan my pregnancies, and I despise surprise parties if they’re for me. I am a control freak at heart, and I am in recovery from that more than any health issue I have. Somehow that tendency lends itself to doubting the God who ...
It is critical in life to maintain margin. I have been a poor ambassador for this concept most of my life. I have filled every page to the maximum space and word count. I have loaded every minute and every day with whatever I personally deemed most worthy. And in the process I have lost focus, ...
I’ve always known myself to be a visual learner. I recently learned my Enneagram and if you’ve been reading along for awhile, you’ll shake your head knowingly: I am a “Five with a Four Wing.” The recent Enneagram trend identifies this as the Investigator. I am cerebral and intense, easily fixated on mastering something, an information ...
Yes, 10-year-old Mary placed her order for that much-desired Sears coat, but there was still some perseverance that had to kick in. She had found her new plan, but as all new plans go, it was not easy or seamless, and she had to dig deep and refuse to give up when that plan disappointed ...
I come from a long line of coat lovers. My mother and I both love to shop for coats. We cannot resist a good sale on a nice coat. I buy coats that no one needs, and my husband has come to accept it. But a story I heard from my grandma helped me to ...
My parents used some interesting phrases in the 70s and 80s. They had to. Mom and Dad were outnumbered two to one, and sometimes those phrases were the only thing that could slow play down. When things “went to bad,” they threatened to “jerk a knot in our tails,” or “slap us into the middle ...
About a year and a half ago, a month after my pacemaker/internal defibrillator was installed, my husband was doing some yard work. Knowing I couldn’t do much actual work, I instead assumed the role of boss. When he got ready to plant a couple of trees we had purchased, I asked him to plant them ...
