Latest Posts

  • Faith - Health - Parenting

    Honor or Riches

    Last week I quoted half of this verse in Proverbs because I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the second line. I was glad to have the opportunity to attend a class on Hebrew poetry. The class gave me new insight. Our teacher, Tim Sigler, gave an overview of…

  • Faith - Marriage

    Grace in Marriage

    A gracious woman gets honor. Proverbs 11:16 This week I listened to a webinar on life coaching. This was the basic question being addressed: How do we help people make healthy changes in their lifestyle? The program was designed for health care workers, but it applies to family life as…

  • Michigan - Recipes

    Potato Salad with Apple

    The apples are ripening. So many good recipes include apples, but have you ever added apples to potato salad? A Finnish chef shared a recipe for potato salad with an apple at a conference I attended. Here is my version of the recipe: 6 medium size yukon gold potatoes 2…

  • Family

    Pilgrim’s Inn: Book Review

    When I picked up the book, Pilgrim’s Inn: The Herb of Grace, at a resale shop I didn’t realize that it is the second book in a series about the Eliot family. Elizabeth Goudge wrote a trilogy; the first book is The Bird in the Tree and the third book…

  • Faith - Marriage

    Morning Devotions: Psalm 119

      God has given us rhythm in nature and in his Word. This summer my husband and I have been reading from Psalm 119 for morning devotions. It is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. The verses have a poetic rhythm that is just partially revealed in…

  • Faith - Gardening

    Gardens of Hope

    During the past week I returned to Detroit. (The first 12 years of my life I lived in Detroit.) I was shocked to drive though a community with abandoned and burned out houses. And yet there is hope and a passion for life here. I visited Brightmoor and I was treated to…

  • Flowers - Gardening - Health - Herbs

    Calendula: A Healing Flower

    In recent years I have been charmed by the benefits of a flower that has a long history. According to the Complete Herbal Book: This sunny little flower—the “merrybuds” of Shakespeare—was first used in Indian and Arabic cultures, before being “discovered” by the ancient Egyptians and Greeks.* The medicinal qualities…

  • Health - Recipes

    Canning Elderberry Juice

    A number of recipes for elderberry syrup are posted on the internet. I have collected ideas for making the best use of my elderberries. I want to preserve the health benefits for this fall and winter. UPDATE 3/13/2020: Please use caution when taking elderberry syrup during a viral infection. It…

  • Family - Flowers - Gardening

    Star Flowers

    When the grandchildren come to my home they like to pick berries and flowers. I name the various berries and tell them a little about them. We talk about which berries are safe to eat. The flowers have names too. The granddaughters have enjoyed picking stalks of flowers— tiny white…