We’d moved in to our new home a week prior. We’d repainted, unpacked, organized, installed new window treatments, and hung every piece of art and photo in its place. It was my dream house. It was as if someone had found our list of everything we were looking for in a house, even the ridiculous […]
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Of the many nuggets I’ve gleaned from my father-in-law, perhaps one I am most grateful for is his response to my husband’s teen years. A lot of people find merit in Mark Twain’s quip: When a boy turns 13, put him in a barrel and feed him through a knot hole. When he turns 16, […]
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Driving home there are two places where cell signals are most likely to drop. What is frustrating is the inconsistency. Sometimes the signal is compromised and the call doesn’t drop but the sounds are garbled. At other times the signal dies. I discover after a few moments of awkward silence that I’m talking to myself. […]
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Last week, I heard from my sister in Thailand some of the heartbreaking moments they’ve been struggling through in their community of refugees. An 11-year-old girl sent to possibly “work” in Bangkok with her mother. A stabbing. A man depriving his family of enough money to buy food. And I thought, My kids and I […]
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How old does a child have to be to pray? The question caught me off guard, as I’ve never considered an “age of accountability” for prayer. Prayer is, after all, simply communicating with God. And infants, from their earliest hours, know how to communicate loud and clear to their parents: they’re hungry, need changing, want […]
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