Numbers Don’t Define Us
It still amazes me how I might not remember what I had for breakfast — yet I can rattle off my childhood phone number. It was: 462-7611. Yes — just seven numbers back then! And don’t get me started on that ticket number at the Social Security office — the one that told me I…
If You Can’t Lick ’Em… Join ’Em
It’s beginning to look a lot like — well, both. Thanksgiving and Christmas are currently sharing the stage like two headliners who showed up to the same concert. And honestly? It’s okay! Just last week, I wandered into Hobby Lobby (dangerous territory for anyone with a pulse and a credit card), and there it was:…
A Thanksgiving Week Kickoff
This is it — Thanksgiving Week! My heart is already doing cartwheels — and so is my kitchen. I’ve already gotten the call from my son: “Mom, PLEASE make your dressing — and your cheese ball — and don’t forget the artichoke dip!” Then my daughter chimed in from East Texas:“CHEESE BALL!” (I’m beginning to…
How to Stay Steady
Back in my high school days, “going steady” meant something. It meant you wore your boyfriend’s class ring on a chain around your neck — a shiny declaration that you were taken, committed, off the market. One glance at that ring, and everyone understood — she’s going steady. Funny thing is, after all these years,…
A Prayer for the Tired, the Poor, and the Yearning-to-Be-Free
Today I found myself reading the words etched into the Statue of Liberty — words I’ve known for years but suddenly felt in a deeper way. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” That little poem, written by Emma Lazarus, wasn’t meant to be political. It was meant to…
Withstand
WITHSTAND — that word hits home for me. After 40 years in Oklahoma winds and now navigating the Texas gusts, I’ve learned this: wind doesn’t play nice. It pushes, pulls, and pressures — but it also reminds us we were built to stand strong. Those winds have a mind of their own. They can rattle…
From Spin Cycles to Soul Cycles
OMG! I learn something new every day — and Sunday was no exception! I read a news piece that morning that was both surprising and strangely comforting: laundromats have a 90% success rate. Restaurants? About 30%. Retail stores? A humbling 20%. And, amusing enough, there we were after church — with dear friends, enjoying our…
Forgive… and Remember
We’ve all heard the phrase “forgive and forget.” People say it like it’s as simple as deleting an email. But life doesn’t work that way. The heart doesn’t work that way. Some hurts leave bruises that can’t be hidden — and some leave scars that don’t erase. Forgetting? That’s humanly impossible. But here’s the best…
A Shepherd, A King, and the God Who Writes Our Stories
Last week in Branson, MO — Carl and I sat in the Sight & Sound Theatre… and I’m telling you, Donna-to-reader, my jaw was somewhere on the floor. Mountains rising on stage. Real waterfalls cascading. Live birds, sheep, camels, horses — trotting past us. Costumes so magnificent that it took us back to that era.…
I Choose To….
Dr. Robert Schuller said it well: “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” And mercy, don’t I remember those tough times — days when the bills piled up, and the calendar still insisted the month wasn’t over. Yet somehow, we made it. Not because we were strong, but because we leaned on the One…