6 Words of Motherly Wisdom for a Teenage Pop Star
(First published in January, 2014. Was he listening? I think so.) When the 19-year-old Pop Star (better known as Justin Bieber) gets stopped for speeding and driving while intoxicated, I can't help but react in the Mom Mode. I'm qualified to do that. As Mom to four male "millenials" (one still in his teens), I've had my share of serious...
Created to be a ‘Living Stone’
I grew up in a little stone house at the edge of a small Midwestern town. Years before we moved there, a previous owner had covered his simple wood frame house with big rocks of all shapes and sizes. Set together with mortar, like bricks, the stones transformed a plain square structure into a unique, fanciful cottage with curved archways and...
It Depends on Your Perspective
Posting today at Five Minute Friday with Lisa-Jo Baker on "See". Writing off the top of my head for five minutes......GO! It's white everywhere you look, snow piled high, roads covered and slick. We're recovering from the worst blizzard in 35 years and some of us haven't been out of the house for days. But here we are, hundreds of us, filling...
It’s True: There’s No Time Like the Present
Hanging on the wall above my desk is a tiny German clock. One of my sons gave it to me for Christmas a year ago. Just like a grown-up cuckoo clock, this one must be wound daily. Though it is beautiful and I treasure it because it was a gift from the heart of someone I love deeply, I must admit I don't always take the time to wind it. But when...
Teach Me to Number My Days
Scrolling through some of my favorite blogs on these last days of 2013, I am inspired to take a fresh look at the tradition of making "resolutions" for how I plan to live my life in the New Year. Resolution -- "a firm decision to do or not to do something" (Oxford English Dictionary) I'm not alone when I admit to being less than successful at...
I’ll Take This Christmas Miracle
In this season of Miracles, would God do less than deliver when asked? Even on a day when life is spinning wild with errands, with that mad rush toward a day for Celebration. Even when it's only a worried mother asking that the search for what is lost might have a good ending. An afternoon romp in the melting snow for the Pup seemed like a...
When You Know Who Brings the Gifts
It was a strange juxtaposition, now that I think of it. Back in the years when we celebrated Christmas at the little white church by the side of the road, every Christmas program ended with a visit from Saint Nick. Bearded, dressed in a fur-trimmed red suit and black boots, he looked much like the Santa greeting children at the mall. Yet...
Treasured Holiday Recipes Are Flavored with Memories
Holiday recipes are special. Shared at the Thanksgiving table or on a Christmas buffet, these dishes represent the love, fellowship and celebration that accompany the breaking of bread together. Growing up, it was my grandmother's apple dumplings with her special butter sauce that meant "holiday" for me. Or my mom's five-pound candy and my...
Scouting, Mail Delivery and Family: “One Man’s Work” Park 6
85 years ago this week, Ruby and Lorne Wilson anxiously awaited the birth of their second child, a son. Robert Harris Wilson would grow up to be a boy scout, a soldier, a postman.....and my Dad. This weekend, our family will celebrate Dad's birthday and while we're gathered around the table, he will certainly share a story or two. In fact,...
Serving His Country: “One Man’s Work” Part 5
As a little girl, I loved looking at Dad's military scrapbook -- I still do today. The book is all black, with descriptions, notes and sketches of airplanes and soldiers created in white ink. The black and white photos are held in place with black paper corners. Dad looks so handsome in his Air Force uniform, and I can see the pride he felt in...