Here we are, caught in-between my two favorite holidays. I like the tastes, smells, lights, the deeper meanings, the silliness and the calm. And yet I know in my heart of hearts, there are those struggling through sickness, loneliness, COVID, financial troubles, losses, worries, etc. I silently lift those bearing burdens to the God of the Universe. He knows how to help all strugglers. But beyond circumstances, there is beauty and Jesus. Some of us can see it, even when there’

Two days in a row, I’ve baked bread. Two days in a row, it fell and was too hard. It didn’t look right at all. What’s going on? I don’t know. Is it me or the ingredients or the oven? No time to bake more. Heavenly days! I’m in a real pickle. I need to put the zucchini bread in the mail. But I can’t send any of these four loaves to John, our birthday boy. I’m set on it because he doesn’t get homemade. And he knows the difference between homemade and store-bought. It’s in the t

I picked up a fan-shaped leaf. It’s from the ginkgo tree. This time of year they turn golden. One day it’s full of gold; the next day, the ground is blessed with golden fans. This is the tree we planted in memory of my mother, but it was not my mother that came to mind today. Instead, I thought of my sister Betty Jean Bland. She was one of the middle children in my family. Betty loved the outdoors—collecting whatever she found: a bird’s beak, a white rock, a rusty coin. I rec

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and this is November. Soooo, I’m late—or am I? Actually, I have a reason for making this blog a November thing. Please bear with my timing. Another version of this text was printed in the October/November 2014 issue of one of our local magazines, Marvelous! It's always a timely subject. I don’t like mammograms. Now that’s an understatement. No fun, and you have to put your pride away, wear no deodorant, strip from the waist up, and su

Friday, October 30, 2020 Four days of rain where we live. It affects us. No doubt, the earth needs the water, and we need the stay-at-home time. Some people find joy and peace of mind during the rainy days. There's even a name for this—they're called pluvophiles. But it's beginning to make us feel bedraggled like the poplar, no matter how upbeat and positive we try to be. Even the dogs are draggy during the hours of cloudy light. I wonder if they’re sick. They sleep until 5 p