Keep The Old

Good morning... If you look closely at our old weathered tree skirt, you will see that it was handmade in 2001, twenty years ago this Advent season. Red felt. Gold cording. Not sewn but glued. Glittery gold paint captured our children's names, ages, and handprints. Back then, our kids were six, four, two, and six months old. Born [...]

By |2021-12-21T08:00:15-05:00December 21st, 2021|Aging, New From Old, Peace|

Betty Skinner Popped Up

Good morning... "Look what popped up on my screensaver!" Kitty Crenshaw, co-author of The Hidden Life Awakened, texted me this photo from a visit we shared with Betty Skinner a few years back. "Oh, I love it!" I replied. "Such beautiful affirmation of mutual love. Betty is so present and so precious." At age ninety-five, our friend Betty [...]

By |2021-09-28T03:41:50-04:00September 28th, 2021|Aging, Death And Resurrection, God's Plan|

Betty Skinner Has A Virus

Good morning... "Mom has been down with a virus," said the caringbridge message written by Betty Skinner's daughter, Betsy, on August 11th. "She was not tested for Covid, and has been in isolation for the past several weeks. The health center is again prohibiting visits to rooms, and she wants no porch visits. She says, 'I feel so [...]

By |2021-08-17T06:23:37-04:00August 17th, 2021|Aging, Death And Resurrection, Friendship|

When Our Kids Are In Pain

Good morning... "Hey sweet and wise Sue," she wrote. "I’m catching up on my emails from yesterday and ironically saw your post “Surviving the Teen Years”....and it was as if God told you to write that for me!" "I’m in the THICK of it with my oldest daughter," she explained. "My sweet girl has faced so much rejection [...]

By |2021-08-13T04:05:17-04:00August 13th, 2021|Aging, Everyday life, Trust God|

At Grandmother’s House

Good morning... Our four kids have left their grandmother's house, a modest log home beside a small lake in Pennsylvania. "It's really more like a pond," one of our daughters said this year, as we can see from one end of the lake to the other. Thirty-three of us gathered from all over the country - Washington state, [...]

By |2021-07-20T03:36:36-04:00July 19th, 2021|Aging, Family and Friends, God's Love|

Surviving The Teen Years

Good morning... As our baby turns 20 years old today, our family of six has officially survived the teen years. What have we learned along life's bumpy way? We serve God as we serve our family. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people (Ephesians 6:7, NIV). Trust God from the bottom of your heart; [...]

By |2021-06-05T09:15:04-04:00June 5th, 2021|Aging, Everyday life, Family and Friends|

On My 58th Birthday

Good morning... Weeding through our overgrown ivy a few weekends back, I uncovered an old gift. This stained, clay square reads, "A garden of friends is always in bloom." On my fifty-eighth birthday, I sense this is true. Just as flowering occurs naturally in the garden, to my quiet amazement friendships bloom beautifully. Investing time together may cultivate [...]

By |2021-03-23T08:50:53-04:00March 23rd, 2021|Aging, Friendship, Trust God|

Wrapped In Love

Good morning... In yesterday's blog post I uncovered the word summing up for me this unusual semester of learning, "Unfinished." Unfinished is uncomfortable. Unfinished is unsettling. Unfinished is often unavoidable. I pressed "send" on our message then hopped in the car and drove to a friend's to walk and talk before our final class. Back and forth conversation. [...]

By |2021-03-20T06:48:22-04:00March 20th, 2021|Aging, Everyday life, God's Love|

Notes From Our Visit With Betty

Good morning... Because of COVID restrictions, co-author Kitty Crenshaw and I could not hug ninety-five year old Betty Skinner, which was absolutely the hardest thing about our face to face visit. Betty's lucky caregiver Lillian was able to give her our huge hug from afar, and Kitty and I will just need to wait until next time to [...]

By |2021-03-09T07:03:36-05:00March 9th, 2021|Aging, God's Love, Gratitude|

The Joy Of A Snow Day

Good morning... I read a shocking headline from fifteen hours ago: "73 Percent of the U.S. Covered in Snow, the Most Widespread Coverage in 17 Years." Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida are the only three states in the lower forty-eight completely untouched by snow on The Weather Channel map. I'm disappointed Atlanta is left out of this sensational [...]

By |2021-02-18T04:48:51-05:00February 18th, 2021|Aging, Joy, Seasons|
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