Recently my husband and I drove through the rolling hills of western Illinois. The sunshine fell softly on the farms and the cattle grazing on the green hills. It was a beautiful day, and we were on our way to a retreat with our church family. We had two and…
My grandfather was a copper miner in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He worked in the mines until he retired. Copper hidden deep in the earth was contained in rock that was blasted, brought to the surface and then processed to remove the copper concentrate. What was it like for…
The crocuses and tulips and lilacs have bloomed. Now the irises, lily of the valley and peonies are blooming in my yard. The roses have buds. Springtime and summer teem with new plant life and flowers, created by God. I have brought some inside to enjoy. Wednesday evening, I listened to…
Throughout the past year I have thought about our education system. We pay taxes for public schools. What is the return for the money? I am grateful for the education that I received in the public school system in the 1950s and 60s. I had classes in art and music…
Men and women are created by God, equal with different roles. How did Jesus treat women? He included women in his teaching, he healed them, he encouraged them. In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at the well. The encounter is unusual for several reasons. Jews…
Mother’s Day is on Sunday, May 14. The Farmer’s Almanac gives the history of this day, pointing to three women who promoted respect and support for motherhood. In the middle of the 19th century, Ann Reeves Jarvis sponsored Mothers’ Day work clubs. Her goal was to improve the living condition for…
Tragic events happen. Yesterday I went to the funeral for a young man, just 31 years old. There were unanswered questions about his death, but the service provided a message of hope. Thirty-four years ago, my son passed away after a two year battle with leukemia. The pain of his…
Our health is a gift from God. He has given us an immune system to fight disease. Sometimes we need medical support and treatment. But I am wary of pills, medications and vaccines to treat everything. As a nurse I have observed a movement to develop protocols that are one…
April showers and sunshine turn my thoughts to the garden. I have started some tomato plants from seed, and next I will start some basil. It is a pleasure to walk outside and see the trees and bushes bud, and then flower. The perennial plants are beginning to sprout. The…
During the past couple weeks I was going through my book shelves and found a book that I had picked up at a resale shop. The Galileans: A Novel of Mary Magdalene was written by Dr. Frank Slaughter and published in 1953. But I never read it. It was time…