My son, Jake, and I can have some interesting conversations. Recently, we’ve debated a couple of Biblical stories. He’s mentioned on more than one occasion that he does not like the New International Version of the Bible. He prefers the good ole King James Version. The other night I was on Pinterest, pinning pins to my Christian Inspiration board. One…
Category: Devotional
What Does Your Trail Look Like?
There is an area near the Destin, Florida bridge called Crab Island. It’s mostly known for the hundreds of boats that gather there, especially in the summer. Hundreds of people, literally boat to boat, having a good time. But I know Crab Island for its namesake…hermit crabs. They’re in abundance right under the bridge. This last trip, I was tickled…
Charlie Brown Lessons!
A Charlie Brown Christmas tree was a reality to this farm kid. We paraded through the woods until we came upon a young white pine. With luck it would have four or five branches and no more than 4 feet high. Our father constructed a tree stand out of scrap lumber. Mom had a few time-worn balls with most of…
Be Still and Know . . .
As the bus left Denver my seatmate turned to me. I always get sad when I leave the city. I grew up with the sounds of the city in my ears. I get a lonely feeling just thinking about being away from the city. What a strange man! He probably thought I was strange when I told him about my…
A Still Small Voice
Three thousand elementary school children filled the concert hall of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra. You guessed it. The sound of that many voices was deafening. The musicians took their places. The maestro stepped to center stage without saying a word or gesturing for quiet. Slowly the din of voices diminished. Softly the director spoke. If you promise to keep from…
The Narrow Road
Our little family loves to explore! When a vacation is planned we don’t simply go…NO NO NO! We buy books and research the area. We find out-of-the-way places and little known areas of awesomeness. I mean, who else can say they’ve been coast to coast…in the upper Peninsula of Michigan? (Which I actually wouldn’t recommend. The “awesome” is few and…
Even If . . .
A few weeks ago our neighbor’s house was struck by lightning and caught fire. After being startled awake by the biggest, booming crack of thunder, and then drifting back to sleep for a few minutes, my dog Rose went to the door and began whining. I got up sleepily and went to let her out, when I saw the neighbor’s…
Portion!
Portion. It’s an interesting word. I’ve been wanting to write something about this word for a while now. For some reason — and I don’t know why — it makes me think of eating Cream of Wheat when I was a little girl. I had a method to eat my portion of Cream of Wheat — but I won’t bore…
Lesson from Beethoven
When contemplating my move to Arkansas I heard about refrigerators on front porches and treasures under blue tarps. I was told that Beethoven and Brahms had been squeezed into oblivion by bluegrass and country. I didn’t think I could survive without Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. I had heard it performed by orchestras in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Pittsburg, Cleveland and Chicago. Would…
Do You Need a Haircut?
Jackson and Reddy didn’t plan to become famous — just trick their teacher. Best buddies, these two little fellows had different haircuts. Using simple boy logic, they figured that identical haircuts would make it impossible for their teacher to tell them apart. So Jackson sat in the barber’s chair. Giggles. Fidgeting. Laughter all around. When finished, the two boys had identical haircuts. Little Jackson —…