The Ugly, Creepy, and Yucky
As a child, I enjoyed playing with doodle bugs aka roly-polies. They were harmless, but, here where I live, they are annoying. They are found creeping along in our breezeways and even carpeted areas. I saw our community’s housekeeper sweeping them into her dustpan, saying “Yuck!” Annoyances. Aggravations. Those little bugs are trying to take…
Our Rich Family History
My son called to ask for as much info as I could provide regarding our family’s history. He was on a quest to keep reminding his boys/men about the foundations that our family was built upon. Then, my nephew, Robert Wheat, saw this FB photo of our “Wheat Family” from back in the 1950s and…
Lemonade Anyone?
It hasn’t been so long that we could forget the Covid pandemic. It was all we could think about during those times. But during that season, even though there were challenges, there were many who thrived – who invented services and created ideas that made them millionaires. They took the “lemons” and made lemonade with…
Eyes Wide Open to Notice Miracles
I have a friend who reminds herself each day to “notice small miracles.” This isn’t only a phrase that she recalls to mind, but rather an attitude that she has chosen as a theme for her life. She started the practice of noticing moments of goodness and beauty during a time of a family crisis,…
For Lasting Change – We Need God’s Power
I was reading in the Book of Romans yesterday and was surprised by the words written by the Apostle Paul. I stopped in my tracks when I read about his problem with sin. WHAT? How could that be coming from one who wrote about our abilities to conquer whatever is conquering over us. Honestly, I…
God’s Amazing Grace….and Ours
Aw! The good, unmerited, and amazing grace of God. We know it well! BUT….what about OUR grace? I started thinking about Paul the Apostle’s words:“Let your conversation be always FULL OF GRACE, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 Our words – full of grace? We hear someone…
Romans 8:28 – The Good News of Bad News
We are known as an optimistic family. We reinforced optimism in our children with “You are champions. You can do anything if you set your heart and mind to it. “I can’t” not accepted in this house! With God all things are possible.” We purposely spoke: “God is good — all the time” regardless of…
Celebrating Fathers
Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads! You know who you are – biological or adoptive, father-figure, or father-mentor, you are truly appreciated and loved. I especially want to give a shout out to all the fathers who, regardless of their circumstances, step up to the plate and do their part in parenting. I…
Peace be with You
I love those words — the words of speaking peace over someone. And isn’t that what this world needs – living in a state of God’s peace that passes all understanding, regardless of circumstances or places we happen to be in at any given time? Isn’t it inspiring to listen to the faith journeys of…
Who Wants to be Normal?
How “different” are we from what is “normal” to others? Some say that “It’s NORMAL to be stressed, fearful, overwhelmed, exhausted, angry, sad, and just plain ornery.” “Normal” to some is ranting and raving right along with all those who are dissatisfied with the weather, the economy, their relatives and relationships, their neighbors, their job,…