What Treasures Will Your Kids Throw Out When You’re Gone?
For 50 years, I've held onto a baseball that was a gift from a guy I once had a crush on. Why? What makes us hold onto stuff that no one else values?
Don’t Be Sorry You Missed an Opportunity
45 years ago, I was sleeping in on my first day home from my junior year of college. I heard my dad and younger brothers in the kitchen having breakfast and getting ready for work and school. I thought about getting up to see Dad, having only seen him a few minutes when I got in the night before. But it felt good to be in my own bed with no reason to have to get up. I snuggled in and went back to sleep. Later that day...
Fevered Reflections on Christmas
I’d planned much more for this month, but the flu waylaid me for two weeks. Consequently, all the things I’d planned to accomplish by now are not going to get done. So here are just a couple of insights that came out of my illness. With little energy for anything else, I had lots of …
Missing Mom
Though Mom's been gone for several years, I miss her more now than ever. Maybe because I'm the age she was when I was a young adult pursuing my dreams without much thought for anyone else. So many times, I stop and think of what she was going through at my current age.
Scribbling on The Face of Christ
If my dad were alive today, this would be his 103rd birthday. He was a wise and kind man, and I’m going to put this story out there because when it took place fifty years ago, we were in the middle of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and ’70s. with racial tensions much …
Home Is Where The Family Is
This week, our Life Stories question has to do with siblings. Summer temperatures in the 100 degree range are pretty normal in my part of Texas. Which is why I try to schedule an annual pilgrimage to visit my five siblings in Wisconsin and Minnesota during July or August. By then, I’ve had enough …
There’s No Place Like Home
Going home. The phrase can bring a variety of responses and emotions. When I’m looking for a new book to read, I’m often surprised at the number of novels written on the premise of returning home. The story may involve the death of a family member who wills a house or a business to …
Dealing With Criticism
The Stuff We Keep Shortly after our parents passed away and we went through the process of disposing of their belongings, my husband and I watched many of our friends go through the experience. We’re at That Age. It’s never easy to sift through someone else’s lifetime collection of Stuff and decide what’s worth keeping, …
Journey of a Thousand Steps, Finale
One big reason for our tour of the Civil War battlefields was a painting that has been handed down from Great-grampa Hamilton. It depicted a place called Champion’s Hill, but no one in the family knew the significance of it, or even its location. Once we started reading the letters from Great-uncle Robert, we discovered …
Stories from the Civil War
During our tour of some of the western Civil War battlefields, I came to suspect that God was working “behind the scenes” to keep the United States together. There seemed to be too many coincidences. Confederate Mistakes Sometimes, it was a matter of poor decisions on the part of the Confederate generals. For example …
Journey of a Thousand Steps – Part 3
My husband’s great-grandfather and uncle served in the Union Army during the Civil War. The uncle wrote 250 letters home to his wife detailing where he was and what he was doing. Last summer, my husband and I joined his cousin and wife on a trip to several of the battlefields where they fought. This …
Journey of A Thousand Steps, Pt. 2
Lessons from the Civil War, Pt. 2 Wayne’s Great-grampa Mart and great-uncle Robert were mustered into the Union army in Springfield, IL in August 1861. They trained there before heading to their first encampment at Cairo, IL in September 1861. Lincoln Museum If you ever find yourself in Springfield, be sure to visit the Lincoln …
Journey of a Thousand Steps (Or Words) Begins Here
I don’t write historical novels, but I find history fascinating. Unfortunately, I’m generally not a detailed person, and if I wrote historicals, I’d always be afraid of missing some important fact. But last summer, my husband and I started a historical journey that has led us down an interesting path. Each month, I’ll share a …
What’s In A Name?
Last month, my daughter got married. This week, she officially changed her last name to match her husband’s. She announced it to the family on an iMessage and Hubby asked if she kept Hamilton as her middle name. Nope, her Social Security card no longer bears the name Hamilton. And we’re good with that. But it …