In 1973 I was in my first year of practice as a registered nurse. I was working on a labor/delivery unit in a city hospital. I was shocked when an abortion by saline induction was done on our unit. Why, on a unit devoted to new life, was a baby…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…