"May this hearth be to us a port in the storm,a cheering beacon, and a place of fellowshipmarked by the consolation of your Spirit." ~ Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy Things that were good in January: A New Year's Day fire in the hearth How Esther does sign language to the songs in church Kiddo … Continue reading Hearthfires & Hockey
A good writer is one who recognizes that there is always more to the story than they're capable of telling. The world is vast, and they will never come to the end of it. John wrote his gospel with this humbly in mind. He had undertaken the formidable task of writing about his Rabbi and … Continue reading All the Books in Eldredge Public Library
Sitting across the coffee shop table from her, I cannot see the Spirit of God in her---just as I cannot see the wind that’s whipping up off the cold Missouri river this morning. I do not know where these January gales come from, or where they’ll lie down tonight. They’re sharp, cutting right through my … Continue reading Where the North Wind Blows
A True Story from Home To me, Mrs. Olave Thurston was the lady in my grandpa’s stories---as if she was another Ma Ingalls or Miss Rumphius. When we ate chicken for dinner, Papa would tell how Mrs. Thurston raised, butchered, and boiled her own. When spring came and I cut fresh flowers for the table, … Continue reading Gravestone Flowers
"Now birds that sleep in brittle trees, Sparrows and jays and chickadees,The last, last robin, and the crow,Awake beneath your thatch of snowAnd hearing bells of midnight ringRouse up and through the darkness singHow in your dreams across the snows,A star, bright as a sun, arose." ~ Elizabeth Coatsworth, Woods' Litany Good things in December: … Continue reading Downtown Lights & Christmas Loaves
There will probably never be an end to the stories pulled from the rubble of 9-11 --- stories of brave men who shouldered people in wheelchairs down a hundred flights of stairs, or ferrymen who swallowed smoke to sail crowds safely off the island, or a woman who kept her head and stayed on the … Continue reading Victory Cry
I saw you all honey-haired in the golden light of the cattle stall, like motes of lit dust in the world--- little, but alive with the breath of God Himself and watching the cow heave and steam and give her milk between your fingers, as your own mama had given hers to you, and as … Continue reading Dust Motes
On Waiting, Hunting, & Courtship “Come back and see us,” she said. “We’ll be here.” And as we turned in our coats to go, she caught me once more: “And enjoy yourselves. Have fun.” This was just after she’d said she was bored of bingo, and couldn’t they offer more activities for the long, dark … Continue reading Late In Time
"Celebration is one of the most effective weapons we have against the darkness of our day. When we celebrate, we proclaim the fact there is still good in the world because God is still faithful." ~ Sally Clarkson And other things that made me happy in November: Two bowls of autumn squash soup Driving a … Continue reading Sunday Afternoons, Sweet Potatoes, & Rolls
Autumn came, at first, like a man too fierce to get old, huffing and fuming like his leaf blower, hurrying hot wind, unsettled as a hurricane in the trees until, one afternoon, the last leaf fell, was raked, put away, and he settled into something long, cold, and sweeter.
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