• Abortion - Family - Women

    What Do the Signs Say?

    Today men and women, teens and children will be marching in Washington D.C. It doesn’t matter that it is very cold with the prospect of more snow. Today is the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.  The marchers will be carrying signs. What do the signs say? LET THEIR…

  • Faith - Flowers - Gardening - Nature

    The Promise of Spring

    The snowdrops by the door lift upward, sweet and pure, their delicate bells; and soon in the calm blaze of noon, by lowly window-sills will laugh the daffodils! Celia Thaxter (1836 – 1894) The snowdrops and crocuses are blooming in my yard.  The cherry tree is still barren but soon it…

  • Faith - Flowers - Michigan - Nature

    Seeking and Finding

    When we pause to notice creation all around, us we become aware of provisions that demonstrate God’s love. Along the coast of Lake Superior, a bluebell flower emerges among the rocks. Along a path a trillium with petals sways in the breeze. The flowers appear on the earth, the time…

  • Faith - Prayer

    Achieving Meaningful Dialogue

    This past week my Bible study group discussed chapter 3 of the book of James. Verse 8 states, but no human being can tame the tongue. We see that in our world today. Much is being spoken on social media, news media and among friends and relatives. We are divided over…

  • Faith - Marriage

    A Path of Peace and Joy

    My husband and I are committed to reading through the Bible in one year. We have a schedule of texts that our pastor provided. We read out loud to each other, two selections in the morning and two selections in the evening. Currently we are reading a chapter from Exodus…

  • Children - Faith - Prayer

    Any Truth in Fairy Tales?

    Many fairy tales begin with once upon a time. It is interesting that these children’s stories can include suffering and waiting.  Cinderella was treated harshly by her stepmother and stepsisters. When the fairy godmother makes a way for her to go to the Prince’s ball, she has to leave at…

  • Faith

    Luke’s Orderly Account

    Next week our women’s Bible study will begin a study of the gospel of Luke (meeting in my backyard). So I am reading and meditating on the first chapter as Luke relates the unfolding of God’s plan to send Jesus. The angel Gabriel visits Zechariah to announce that God has…

  • Abortion - Children - Health - Parenting

    At Last a Child Spoke Truth

    Hans Christian Anderson wrote fairy tales that I read as a child. Recently one of those stories has come to mind. In The Emperors New Clothes swindlers approach a self-indulgent King with a proposal. They have devised a very clever lie with their plot. They tell the King that the…

  • Faith

    A Truth Beyond Measure

    The prompt for Five Minute Friday is: MEASURE I usually think about the prompt over night and then write in the morning. In bed I mused about all the ways I have made measurements. As a mom I measured the height and weight of my children as they grew, the…

  • Faith - Writing

    Good Writers are Readers

    Good writers are readers. In order to become a better writer, I read extensively. I read fiction and nonfiction books. I read nursing and midwifery journals. I read the Bible. Last fall I thought that I should read a major newspaper to keep up with the events of the day.…