Recently I read Tessa Afshar’s book, Daughter of Rome. The book is historical fiction centered on Priscilla of the Bible. One of the events told in the book is the couple’s forced move out of Rome. The Bible states that this happened. After this Paul left Athens and went to…
Today I woke up to snow decorating the trees and covering the ground. I was drawn to spending time outside. The hyacinths in front of our house were still peeking up, despite the snow. The sound of many birds twittering and whistling filled the morning air. As I took a…
We are in challenging times . . . like people who came before us. I think of the civil war, the Spanish flu, World War II. The Bible records times when fear hung over the people of Israel. Currently I am studying the book of Ezra. After 70 years of…
Currently I am studying the book of Ezra with women of my church. We looked at the reason that God allowed Israel’s captivity in Babylon. One reason was their failure to give the land its Sabbath rest. I read about the Sabbath rest that God commanded his people. I have…
My mother’s birthday was last month. We celebrated her 98 years. She is cared for in a nursing home in Michigan. She has significant memory loss and is wheelchair bound. She recognizes family as familiar people and is happy to see us. Sometimes she reverts to the language of her…
When I scanned the cover of the newly released book, The Third Daughter, I saw that it was the story of a Russian girl in the late 1800s. It is a period of time that I am studying. If I had read further I would have realized that Talia Carner…
Yesterday I visited the Hull House museum with my husband. I am gathering insight into Chicago during the 1890s. It is impressive to learn about the work that a group of young women undertook to assist the immigrant population during a period of tremendous influx. They had a vision for…
Over the past couple of years I have tracked legislation occurring across our country with regard to childhood vaccinations. Because one of my children developed fibromyalgia after a vaccine I am sensitive to this issue. In 1986 the federal government passed a bill, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, that…
Fifteen years ago I began writing a novel with the intention to honor the immigrant women that came to Upper Michigan during the copper mining boom. My grandmother was one of those women. As I wrote I was also comparing childbirth experiences in the early 1900s with modern birth experiences.…
Talent: characteristic feature, aptitude or disposition of a person; the natural endowments of a person Words matter. They can encourage or deter creative pursuits. I still remember two elementary school teachers that I had. The orchestra teacher told me that I had no musical ability and discouraged me from attempting…