After a particularly destructive storm hit a rural town a few decades ago, two adult brothers had the unenviable task of splitting and stacking the wood from the many fallen trees around the family farm. To make the job more interesting, the younger brother suggested a contest to see which of them could split and […]
My Christmas gift to my mother this year was a handmade quilt. But it wasn’t just another blanket to keep her warm on a cold evening while watching the ballgame. The quilt was the completion of a family heirloom that was started many decades ago. With her characteristically painstaking precision, my grandmother pieced together this […]
At the beginning of a new year, it’s normal for our thoughts to dwell on what’s ahead and to contemplate the challenges and changes that might be in store for us over the next 12 months. And while it’s natural for our eyes to become fixed in the direction we are going, problems come when […]
Ephesians 4:6 has been a favorite verse of mine for many years. The simple text reminds readers that God is “over all, through all, and in all.” That means He’s constantly at work in the major events that touch every one of us, as well as actively revealing Himself in small and seemingly insignificant occurrences […]
Christmas is over for another year and in just a few days the last of the lights will be taken down, the final scraps of wrapping paper will be swept up, and life will return to normal. Next week, kids will go back to school, most people will return to work, and unfortunately, nearly all […]
Christmas at our house has a different feel this year. With one child moved out, another still away at college in another state, and the youngest two in high school and busy with their own pursuits, there just doesn’t seem to be as much interest (or availability) for decking the halls, buying new Christmas socks, […]
