(1 minute, 38 seconds) One time, a kid doing donuts in a gravel parking lot kicked up rocks and shattered the back window of our SUV. The kid drove away fast. We went home with the heat on.Once, I threw a plate on the floor…

(1 minute 10 seconds) My artist friend Jane transforms blank canvases into splendor. It was my joy to tour one of her galleries recently with her as my personal guide, where I discovered the quiet power of seeing art through its creator’s eyes. I walked…

(1 minute, 24 seconds) High jumping is a complicated sport. I speak from experience. Crucial elements include: an accelerated arc approach, firm foot plant and push off with simultaneous dual arm swing overhead, arching one’s body in a giant “C” over the bar head first,…

January 2025(1 minute, 29 seconds) Stumbling into the Speedy Quick gas station, my husband and I desperately needed caffeine for the nine-hour drive ahead of us. After filling our cups, we waited in line. When I heard, “I can help who’s next,” I absentmindedly stepped…

December 2024(1 minute, 22 seconds) Two years ago, my dear husband was dealt an awful blow.After dedicating nearly 32 years to a company, his position was abruptly eliminated—with no inkling or warning. In an impromptu meeting, his boss, his boss’s boss, and an HR representative…

(1 minute, 8 seconds) My beloved Pastor Tom, who baptized me at 23 years old and performed our wedding ceremony when I was 24, is a Texan Baptist Preacher. From the pulpit one Sunday morning, towering in his cowboy boots, I clearly remember the booming…

(3 minutes, 15 seconds) The Appalachian Trail is a hiking path in the Eastern United States. The trail is 2,185 miles long, extends from Georgia in the south to Maine in the north, and passes through 14 states. In 2011 as an experienced hiker, Jennifer…

(1 minute, 12 seconds) I want to offer the encouragement that, as a daughter of the Most High, it is crucial to consider and prioritize maturing in the Lord and growing in godliness. I’ve been re-reading and re-riveted by Jean Fleming’s insightful book, Pursue the…

(1 minute, 22 seconds) Wisconsin summer days are fleeting. Keenly aware of this reality and determined to savor a warm, nearly perfect day recently, I loaded “Ruby,” my fast bike with skinny tires, onto my bike rack and drove to a nearby trail.As I joyfully…

(2 minutes, 26 seconds) I loved my Grandma Ollie.Though I wasn’t hers by birth, Grandma loved me like her own. She taught me to cross-stitch, played funny finger games with me, and gave me her traditional 16 sugar cubes, beautifully boxed and wrapped in a…