Please join me in congratulating the finalists of the 2012 Carol Awards. Winners will be announced Saturday, September 22, 2012, at the ACFW Awards Gala. If you’re looking for a summer reading list, look no further. There are some absolutely fantastic books on this list – the best that Christian fiction has to offer this year! I’m honored beyond belief …
Considering Humpty Dumpty
Sitting around waiting for your foot to heal results in a lot of time on your hands. My mind has begun to wander as I’ve contemplated the great mysteries of the world. Such as this one: Why is Humpty Dumpty always depicted as an egg? Think about it. Nothing in the original rhyme says he was an egg, or even …
What’s Happening at the Smith Household – OUCH!
I don’t do things halfway. I’m what they call an overachiever. If I’m going to do something, I like to throw myself into the task. That can be a good thing, or… Last week I was visiting my son and daughter-in-law for the weekend. I got up early in the morning and slipped outside with a cup of coffee and …
Summer Vegetable Salad
Last week my church had a picnic, and someone brought a delicious chilled vegetable salad. I never found out who brought it so I couldn’t get the recipe. When I got home I did a little surfing on the Internet, and though I didn’t find exactly the same thing, I got some ideas. So I mixed up my own version, …
Healing Hurts
The other day my not-quite-two-year-old grandson got a splinter in his finger. By the time he showed his parents his “owie,” the skin had closed over and the area had become red and swollen. Mommy and Daddy borrowed a needle from me and proceeded to remove the splinter. Oh, Dominic did not like that! “It hurts, it hurts!” he cried …
Hungry as a … bird.
The other day I took my coffee outside to enjoy a quiet moment in the beautiful spring weather. When I sat on the bench on my front porch, I heard a noise coming from the cherry tree nearby. A bird, obviously, but not singing. This was a harsh kind of sound, faint but insistent. More like a cry of some …
Fresh Truth in Reruns
I’m beginning a new Bible study this week – Beth Moore’s “Breaking Free.” I went through this study around 10 years ago, and it ministered some powerful truths to me then. I’ve done more than a dozen in-depth formal studies since that time, as well as less formal daily readings and studies. It’s funny, but I’ve thought a lot about …
Quilt Imperfections
The other day I was making up the guest room in preparation for a friend’s visit. As I spread a quilt over the mattress and smoothed out a wrinkle, my fingers lingered over a seam. This quilt is one of several I received when my husband’s father passed away. He and his wife lived in northern Ohio, an area that …
A Message from the Burning Bush
In my morning Bible study time I’m following the Two-Track plan laid out by author Philip Yancy. The plan is divided into a series of 2-week daily readings on various topics, such as “Women of the Bible,” “Prayers of the Bible,” “The Holy Spirit,” etc. This morning I started “Two Weeks on Social Justice.” I admit, when I read that …
He’s There 24×7
I’ve shared with you before that my family has adopted Psalm 91 as our “signature’ passage of scripture. We use it as a form of blessing whenever we part, as in, “I love you! Bye! Psalm 91 on you!” That’s because this Psalm is a testimony of the assurance to those who “make the Most High your dwelling.” In other …