The Greatest Christmas Gift Ever!
I write my Christmas letter this year to you, Jesus. I could write a sanitized, incomplete letter, telling family and friends of all the “good” and leaving out all the “bad”. You know—the usual letters of trips taken, accomplishments made, how proud we are of our children and their marriages and babies. You know, Jesus, […]
People Walking in Darkness
Oh, the times are dark . . . We are marching toward the darkest day of the year, December 21, and I am consumed with darkness. I rise in the dark. I make dinner in the dark. There are even some places on earth even darker than Wisconsin! Like Alaska. People consumed in darkness struggle […]
Prophecy, End Times, and Seeking the Son with My Dog
If our dog were a human, she’d be a beach bum, I’m quite certain. Her days consist of eating, drinking, running around like a Tasmanian devil dog, and seeking those sun spots to stretch out and relax, to bask in the warmth. She’s pretty simple actually. She doesn’t read books or worry much, at least […]
Climb High, Stay Low
We took our kids to a camp with another family with whom we have been very close for many years, whose kids grew up with ours. We zip-lined and rock climbed. On the beautiful lake surrounded by trees, we kayaked, canoed, paddle boated, and swam. We petted goats that tried to eat our shorts. We […]
Unplugged
He and she and I went for a morning walk—a Sabbath on a Thursday. I need sabbatical on a daily basis—taking time to unplug, slow, open all my senses and soul to God’s magnificence displayed in His creation. I do believe we all need a daily dose of sabbath. We began on the northern trail […]
Wake Up Call
What is it about husbands in the bedroom? Mine is trying my already frazzled nerves lately. First off, he’s a heavy sleeper and I’m not. So, to keep our togetherness in the bed, we both keep separate alarm clocks on our separate nightstands. My alarm clock is a little black box with soft, red, lighted […]
Independence Day
Today is Independence Day—for one I love deeply. But that independence has been blurred for so long—too long . . . Hopes for family and a dog and a white picket fence—they can blur reality beyond just a bit. Too many long and grueling years spent with one who is not meant for marriage yet, […]
Expectation
Victory, triumph, peace, freedom. This is why they waved palm branches along that road I walked from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem—the same road my Lord Jesus traveled. I could see them in my mind, lining both sides of that road. I could see the smiles. I could hear the shouts. I could feel […]
Catty
How to suffer well so we can help others suffer well . . . Catching barn cats, crating, and transporting them to the vet were calendar to-dos last week for annual examinations and vaccinations. Howling their laments, I drove all three of them to the one who knows better than I what they need to […]
Dead Mouse
How to live like you’re dying . . . I found the body of a deceased mouse in our barn today. Alive and well one moment, in the feline fangs of death seconds later. Flat and gray, stretched out stiff on cold concrete, there he lay. Did the mouse think about how fragile life is […]
Heel
Years ago, an extended family member mocked a story I wrote about our dog. The words stung. Why? Because I was trying to help. Maybe stories about dogs seem juvenile and ridiculous to some, but to me, God uses animals to teach me lessons I might otherwise never learn. The dog I wrote about then […]
Dis-Abled
Our daughter has been in her new apartment for a month now. The transition has not been easy on her—or us. In fact, she has been mad as a hornet, trying everything she can think of to get us to give up—to give in—to let her move back home. She has tried her passive-aggressive tactics. […]