All we know.

Don’t you love looking at a baby’s face for the first time?  Looking into eyes that stare back at you like “What in the world is that thing? Put me back, please”

Prior to this newborn moment, baby was a well thought-out design of God.  Being formed in His image as God picked out hair color, eye color, size and shape…. fearfully and wonderfully thought out and created with love as the main ingredient.  And those months in the warm womb were a blissful time of just baby and God.  And mommy, of course.  But I believe God knows baby long before Mommy does.  Continue reading “All we know.”

Young. And Old. And Future.

Sixty three years ago on this day, my 15 year old sister loaded up my pregnant mom and my two other sisters in our old car and drove to the hospital 25 miles from home.  My sister’s skills included driving a tractor and she could drive a car, too.    Dad was working, driving a road maintainer for the county. Probably far out in the country on a dirt road and there weren’t cell phones in that day.  He was probably clueless that the whole hospital thing was happening.  I don’t think I was quite due to be born yet. The first and last time I was early for anything.  Continue reading “Young. And Old. And Future.”

To Hear Him Sing

Music.  It’s really everywhere around us.  Radio.  You tube.  Movies aren’t movies unless there is a soundtrack.  TV advertisements couldn’t exist without a catchy tune.  Elevators, subway stations, restaurants….. we are surrounded with song.  Continue reading “To Hear Him Sing”

Remedies and Remedy

Did your mom have her list of go-to remedies for every malady you might experience?  I’m thinking your answer is probably “yes”.  My mom sure did.  

Milk of Magnesia would cure everything.  Tummy ache?  Take some milk of magnesia.  Tired and worn out?  Take some milk of magnesia.  Ingrown toenail?  Same remedy….. well yeah that might be an exaggeration.   Continue reading “Remedies and Remedy”

Passing time and snapping fingers

Her name was Elnora Christina Borgen Reed… Nora was her common name.  I didn’t know her, but she knew me.  For the first six months of my life I believe she may have held me, maybe sang to me, definitely prayed for me.  They were the last six months of her life.  Continue reading “Passing time and snapping fingers”

Little White Church

Little white church.  Every small rural town has one.  Ours was on 3rd and Argyle.  Nondescript.  Simple.  Easily overlooked.  Just a little white church.

Last year our little white church was demolished after having been unused for a few years.  I watched the Facebook live video of the demolition from my home 100 miles away, with tears running down my cheeks.  We were married in that church.  Our two baby girls were dedicated in that church.  We worshiped in that church for 25 years or so.  Our hearts were deeply embedded in the four walls of that little building.  It hurt so bad to watch it being dozed, even though it was obvious the building condition had deteriorated to the point it was necessary.  Continue reading “Little White Church”

The flip side of beautiful.

Are you familiar at all with 45 RPM records?  Side A generally held the recording of a popular hit song that received a lot of radio air time.  Side B was typically lesser known, less popular, sometimes never-played music.  

Continue reading “The flip side of beautiful.”

Unfinished business. Call NOW.

If you live in our part of Kansas and you’ve ever watched anything on TV there is 100% chance that when you hear the phrase “call NOW” you think of one person.  Jerry O’Neal.  Continental Siding company.  You may not remember his company name but you cannot forget, no matter how hard you try, the sound of his voice saying “call NOW“.  Continue reading “Unfinished business. Call NOW.”

Uncommon sanctuaries

Some children grow up spending most of their leisure time with siblings or cousins or next door neighbor kids.  
 
I did not.  No siblings even close to my age made me a bit of an only child.  Ditto cousins.  I had a couple very good friends, but play time wasn’t all that frequent. 
 
My dad was my fishing buddy and my favorite person to spend leisure time with.  But of course time with him was limited because he had that pesky 40+ hour/week job thing going on.  
 
My mom also had that pesky full time employment scene happening from the time I was eight years old.  
 

Continue reading “Uncommon sanctuaries”

Do you know? Have you heard?

One of my favorite rooms in our home is an unfinished room in our basement that contains the furnace and hot water heater.  Ductwork is visible through the unfinished walls and ceiling.  A single lightbulb is affixed to a ceiling joist. It’s also our “office” of sorts.  A real cozy place with random pieces of carpet on the cement floor and our grandkids’ artwork taped up here and there.  My husband’s desk and our printer are down there as well as file cabinets full of all manner of stuff that probably has very little significance.  And there are several shelves of books, MANY MANY BOOKS, that we’ve collected over the years.  Continue reading “Do you know? Have you heard?”

I just have to wonder about that day.

Consider this scenario for me please:  A woman in her late thirties finds herself with an unplanned pregnancy.   The details surrounding her situation are sketchy. She does not choose to keep this baby for reasons that are only hers to know. And not ours to judge.  The known facts are that is she is in this country illegally, has no money, no health insurance, an unplanned womb occupant, and has had no prenatal care. Not an easy situation for anyone to be in.

At twenty-four to twenty-five weeks gestation the baby is delivered by emergency c-section.  The third trimester begins in week 28.  This baby…. aborted fetus…. you get the picture.  Eyes fused shut, skin so delicate that he can’t be touched by human hands without harming him, APGAR score is 2 (TWO) and by 5 minutes is all the way up to 4 (FOUR).   If you are a little vague on the meaning of APGAR scores, google it.  This baby was in deep deep trouble.  Weight was 1 pound and 10 ounces and he was about a foot long. 

Imagine you are in that surgical suite looking at this fragile tiny piece of humanity who for all practical purposes is about to leave this world without immediate medical intervention and even then…..??  There is no insurance, there is no money to pay for heroic medical intervention or even a baby aspirin.  

But decisions were made and this baby was quickly transported 150 miles by medical helicopter to a NICU.    Whisked away from a womb that couldn’t keep him, struggling to survive, needing a miracle in the worst way….. even though he had no one with him at the time who called him their own.  No one.  Alone.  I have to wonder if the doctors and emergency personnel on board that helicopter had at least a fleeting thought that this trip was not going to end well, if the phrase “waste of time” entered their minds, if the fact that the cost of saving this life was going to be astronomical and there was no one to pay for it except the taxpayer dollar.  I hope not, but I can’t help but wonder what went through their minds on that late-night trip.   

Continue reading “I just have to wonder about that day.”

What if?

Historically, I have been what you might call the Queen of What If.  This condition started early on in childhood but  escalated quickly the very first time I held my first baby in my arms.

What if….I break her?  What if….she breaks me??  Continue reading “What if?”

Mommy

Recently I was touched by a story a dear friend shared with me.  She is the mother of 5, three girls and two boys.  One of her sons passed away a few years ago unexpectedly when he was in his early twenties, following a seizure.   The younger son has really struggled since the death of his brother.  He’s suffered a lot of personal tragedy as a result.  My friend knows deep sadness.  Brokenness that has brought her face down at the feet of her Savior Jesus.  Her faith has grown from brokenness.

Continue reading “Mommy”

Small things

Starting at about age 30 or perhaps a year or two sooner, I began to dream about retirement.   You may relate.  Just looking forward to the day when the alarm clocks stop loudly interfering with our blissful sleep. Forcing us to put on happy faces and head off to work.  Day after day after day. Cruel behavior, those pesky alarm clocks. Continue reading “Small things”

Three words

Every living person will have, is having, or has had a chapter in their life story that can only be described as a dark valley of sadness and despair.  Broken chapters. There’s no way around it.  No way to skip over them and hurry on to the good part. Brokenness can show up in many different forms. Death, addictions, abandonment, on and on. The list of possible scenarios really is endless.

Continue reading “Three words”

Chance encounters of the Grocery Store kind. The power of kindness.

Sometimes grocery store shopping can be irritating, almost a torture.

But sometimes it can be quite the opposite.

I was at Dillons the other day and  found myself next to a young female customer in the produce department.  As I reached up to select a container of fresh pico de gallo she asked me my opinion of the pico.  We had a really nice conversation and she was so friendly.  We visited for quite a while.   She once operated a restaurant.  And she actually enjoys chopping up jalapenos and onions by hand!   At the end of the conversation she gave me a warm smile and said, “I hope you have a very blessed day.”  I reciprocated with “I hope you do, too.” Continue reading “Chance encounters of the Grocery Store kind. The power of kindness.”

Go ahead. Live. Now. (and forever!!)

A few days ago I had lunch with a dear friend.  Over Panera deliciousness, we caught up on life and the goings-on in our individual families.  Always a blessing to hang out with Sandy.

We both have new camping vehicles and part of our conversation involved our individual trips we have planned as soon as spring arrives. It seems that both of us and our husbands are almost fixated on the need to just go camping.  Just be in the great outdoors.  Breathe the fresh air and let our souls relax and our batteries recharge.  Quality time with our Creator. Continue reading “Go ahead. Live. Now. (and forever!!)”

HGTV and contentment

Do you watch HGTV?  House Hunters, Flip or Flop, or my favorite Fixer Upper? I’m guessing you have watched at least one episode of these shows, as well as perhaps Property Brothers, HH International, etc.  I’ll be honest, I love to watch this channel.  No real political undertones, no real drama, and no disgusting commercials that would make you hope your grandkids aren’t watching, and make you wish you weren’t watching.  Ick.  (talking about you, Sports Networks).  HGTV is just stuff about home.  Home is a precious topic for most everyone. Continue reading “HGTV and contentment”

Capturing Time



If you’re old enough you should remember the day when taking a photograph involved quite the procedure. My mom had what I think was a Kodak Brownie camera (? maybe) that she was ecstatic about. The process was slow. Film to buy at a store and then load into the camera. Then you had to remember to advance the film after taking the picture or risk double exposures. And the blinding flash that was so easy to forget to use, and of course when you really needed it you’d learn the bulb was burned out. Yes, little bitty light bulbs. Yes, we had to replace them. Yes, in a CAMERA, children of today!!! Then you had to use up all the film before having the pictures processed. Which always resulted in random shots of nothingness. Often we had more random nothings than good pictures. 

Back in those days in order to even look at the picture you just took it required printing them, which was a 10 day-2 week process.  You waited all that time, sifted through  12 to 24 to 36 to 48 prints for possibly that ONE picture you really wanted to see.  And often, every stinking one of them was icky and unusable.  Useful only for gag gifts or the like.

Continue reading “Capturing Time”

One autumn evening

There’s something about a sunset.  I’ve heard there’s also something about a sunrise, too, but I’m far more likely to experience sunsets than sunrises.

Every 24 hours the sun signs off for the day.  Some days it’s just a quick goodnight with no kiss of beauty.  Other times God paints a sunset so beautiful it brings tears to my eyes. That’s a fact.  Sometimes a sunset can take me away to one particular evening in 1970.  Kind of odd that one particular sunset has been etched permanently in my memory.  But it is. Continue reading “One autumn evening”