A few weeks ago I shared a story about granddaughter, Brooke, searching for buttons to use on her sewing project. She wanted to make a tree skirt for her home. The buttons she picked were off her great-great-grandfather’s long johns. Earlier she had taken old jeans that belonged to her grandfather. She used the good spots from that material to make the Christmas trees on her tree skirt. The buttons served to close the circle and here is the finished…
A few days ago we did our annual Walk to the Manger play at Colonial Presbyterian Church, Quivira campus, complete with a live baby and a cast of at least forty. This production is more than just a play. The words to one of the songs is very direct. “Would you have been there, what would you have done? Would you have stayed, would you have run? Would He see you, would you just pass by? Would your heart…
I feel like I’ve run a marathon. My latest book, “The Road Home” is finally out on Amazon.com. After my husband Vic died of lung cancer, I took snippets from my journal and poems I’d written during that time. It wasn’t easy to write, but as one editor wrote, “This is an important work.” This book is more than a memoir. These lines contain wisdom I learned as we worked through those days until Vic’s death and new discoveries I…
I awoke early the other morning with the first line of a poem in my head. When this happens, I can’t roll over and go back to sleep without forgetting the phrase. This is the poem that followed when I sat at the computer. Jesus More than a babe in a manger. The King of all kings, and Lord of all lords. The promised Messiah. God with skin on. The Word of God who created the world. The One Who…
Recently my granddaughter, Brooke, called. “Grandma, I’m making a tree skirt for my Christmas tree and I need some buttons. Do you have any you inherited from your mom?” “Oh, I’m sure,” I said. “Come on over and we’ll see what we can find.” Brooke sat on the couch and looked carefully through my collection. Some were in old pickle jars, others had been strung on an old piece of wire. Still others were in sacks. “Where did all these buttons…
By the time this blog is posted, I’ll have two new eyes (almost). When I took the eye exam last year to renew my driver’s license I couldn’t read much from my left eye. When I sat to read a book recently I wondered why the print was so faint. When I drove at night stop lights had halos around them when I looked out my left eye. From the right one, everything appeared slightly doubled. I made an appointment…
Thanksgiving is a time for feasting on tried and true comfort foods. This one came to mind today. I didn’t make it often but it was always a hit when I did. Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons Ingredients 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/4 teaspoon almond extract 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon fine salt 1 large egg white 3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut 1 (4 ounce) bar semisweet chocolate, chopped, or to taste Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees…
November is Writer’s Digest Poem-A-Day Challenge. Robert Brewer posts a prompt each day online during the month here. The author can choose to post his work on the site to let others comment or not. The prompt for Nov. 9th was “Reflections.” My response read like this: Reflections A mirror never lies when the eyes of the beholder peer at wrinkles and saggy places. Sometimes I wish the looking glass fibbed—just a little. My latest book, Joshua’s Journey: One Boy’s…
I never cease to be amazed at the wonderful kids and grand kids God gave me. When Trey visited the other day I got a call back from a fireplace store I had called earlier. Trey, his son Lou, and I decided to go check out the gas logs there. Before too long, we came home with a set in a box and the guys had a new job–installing it in our fifty-year-old fireplace. Nothing is ever as easy as…
As I explained last week, I use picture prompts in creative writing classes to spark ideas for a 10 minute writing prompt. This short short story is one I wrote in class this fall. Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, you might find it fun to pick a picture and write for 10 minutes to see what appears on the page. Hmmm. I had a glitch in my system this morning. Here is the story that should appear…