(2 minutes, 14 seconds) Many things are different for my husband and me now that our nest is empty. Take, for instance, the whole realm of food and eating. With our birdies gone, we sometimes eat out spontaneously. There is no longer a filled cookie jar on the counter. Now,…
The Urgency of Friendships
(2 min, 34 seconds) I clearly remember the conversation where I was misled about the importance of women’s friendships. This wrong information was presented to me in the direst of tones and with the most earnest of facial expressions. I was told pointedly that to be a good mama to…
Rooted
2 minutes, 1 second I have been joyfully turning the soil in my fruit and vegetable garden this summer. Among other things, I have transplanted into tidy rows of rich earth, previously stray, non-thriving strawberry plants which I discovered scattered about from the efforts of a previous gardener of this…
Bitterness or Better-ness
(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 words that he spoke in…
Tending To Others
I watched from across the hospital room as one of my dearest friends briefly yet graciously greeted each of her visitors. No doubt, her brave and calm demeanor was the result of putting all into the hands of her faithful Savior. Only that morning, my friend had received the grim…
Available and Teachable; Both Hands Wide Open
(4 minutes, 14 seconds – Happy Mother’s Day!) Hesitant, I approached the registration table in the church foyer. Mingling among very young moms, I felt conspicuous. As a woman with grown children cruising in on the half-century mark, I sheepishly stepped forward to sign up to be mentored. The gray-haired…
Mercy In The No
(2 minutes, 49 seconds) Before my utterly botched hip replacement, I was a runner. For many years, I had dreamed of running in the Boston Marathon. In order to be given the privilege of an entry ticket into this prestigious race, athletes must first prove themselves elite enough runners by…
Consuming Fire
(2 minutes, 5 seconds) This time reading Leviticus, I’m slogging through, rather than skimming, the third book of the Bible. Every day as I read, I face two glaring facts: the holiness of God and my need for Jesus. In chapter 10, two of Aaron’s priest-sons offered unauthorized fire before…
(Don’t!) Put Another Log on the Fire
(Don’t!) Put Another Log on the Fire(2 min, 26 sec) Musical confession: I like to polka. Second musical confession: Oblivious to the words or gist of the song, I have polka tunes in my head that make my feet start in on a polka jig. Consider the song “Put Another Log…
True North
(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 Pharr Davis set the overall…