The first week of December is nearly past, and I’ve changed my mind three times about which Advent devotion to use for Christmas. Why am I dragging my feet? I can’t connect the babe in the itchy hay to the man who faced death with composure. God entered human life as the rest of us …
My bedside table speaks volumes. The books discussed below stand on my bookshelf as mentors overlooking and nudging my growth and wonder of life. They each have underlined sentences or bracketed paragraphs with notes I’ve written. You may want to add one or some of them to your Christmas list or to someone else’s list. …
Tori and I walked into the nave. A stand holding laminated cards which chronicled the history of the church blocked the center of the aisle. We each took one, then began reading and searching out the details described in the literature. After a few moments, I whispered to Tori that I wanted to move deeper …
Six hikers collapsed on the tundra. Throughout our foray winding up the mountain on switchbacks through boreal forests, munching lunch on a summit, then knee-jarring our way back down, I repeated every fact our guide, Ryan, described. He introduced us to plants and animals as he would old acquaintances, giving their names accompanied by …
My husband rustles in the closet. I forbid my eyelids to lift, and I dive back into my dreams. “If you get dressed and go vote with me, I’ll take you to breakfast.” I whip off the covers and sit up. “Bagelheads or McDonalds, whichever place you want to go.” Bagel head’s glorious morning muffin …
Should I or Shouldn’t I? My sister-in-law had planned the menus, pre-marinated, pre-cut, and prepared the food. My brother navigated our paths down dirt roads criss-crossing the brush to fishing ponds and sunset watching locations. My only decision was choosing between boots and athletic shoes. That was the extent of pressure weighing me for 42 …
“Suzanne?” I’m loading coffee cups into the dishwasher and pretend not to hear. No follow-up voice speaks, so I rinse plates and slide them in slots below the cups. I’m returning pineapple to the fridge, when it comes again. “Suzanne.” “Yes, I’m here, I just want to finish cleaning up the kitchen. I’ll be right …
In a pamphlet he published called “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine expresses the last straw that pushed him over the ledge toward independence from Great Britain. No man was a warmer wisher for reconciliation than myself, before the fatal nineteenth of April 1775, but the moment the event of that day was made known I rejected …
I have an uninvited companion. His name is Death. He barged in and dragged off my mother, my father, my in-laws, and pets in short order then came back with his luggage to stay. At first, I fought him like mad by flailing at others. “This feels so WRONG.” I accused God. “Are you really …
LORD of Birds and Questions On my morning walk in the neighborhood, I head south on Oceola Avenue and the sun burns like a campfire on my left cheek. The low elevation of this street prevents development on three contiguous lots, so grasses sweep down from the road to the bayou, framing an inspiring view. …
Dad picked up the salt shaker and tipped it over his tea. “Uh Dad, that’s not your steak. That’s your tea.” He continued with the salt, and few crystals began spilling into his glass. I put my hand over his and guided the salt shaker over his plate. His eyes slowly tracked our hands, but …
A tropical storm is simmering in the Caribbean Ocean, and its forecast track edges westward then eastward but always northward, where I sit at my keyboard. The thought of a hurricane electrifies my mood. On one hand, it’s exciting to anticipate the power that can blow down an oak tree with a girth larger than …