It was empty. I immediately asked, Is today a holiday? But no. We just didn’t get any mail, so the box was a black hole of disappointment. Not even a sales flier? Shoulder sag. There it was again –the idolatry of heart that I had been learning about for a few years. I was starting…
I’ll begin with Beverly, and eventually you will see where I’m going with this. She is half Australian Shepherd, half Border Collie, and she just got her 12-week shots. My daughter has brought her new dog along, to stay with us for a week while her husband’s away, so we are tag-teaming the puppy thing….
One week to our 25th wedding anniversary, so you should know about a longstanding joke between Matt and me. I’ll make some insightful comment about a person, and Matt will disagree. I’ll argue with him, because…I argue. The disagreement escalates, until finally I bark at him, “Honey, which one of us knows people?” Then we…
Today, I would like to tell you about my dad, and I can’t think of a better way for you to get to know him than by showing you a note he wrote me many years ago. Poems beginning in “Roses are red, violets are blue” were to my dad’s side of the family what…
It’s time for a fun Mexican food day in my Spanish class, so I’m having Qdoba catered during the lunch hour. But do you know that I almost broke out into hives just planning this? My administrative skills: 0. I’m trying not to panic that I’ve probably messed up some detail. My students wish we…
“I’ve got to run and get paint supplies,” I said to my son. “Do you want me to go with you?” he replied. A heroic offer, since he had just relaxed on the couch to watch a sitcom. He turned off the TV before I had even answered, and we hopped into the car. On…
I chose the second lane in the bank drive-through and sent the tube with my paperwork. When the bank lady returned the tube, I asked her if I could borrow the pen and return it the next time I came to the bank. (I was on my way to a wedding shower and needed to…
I was finishing up my bowl of mini-wheats, which means coffee and Bible reading was next in my morning routine. But I was hit by an unexpected feeling of boredom. Last week I started a slow read through the book of John, which is my favorite gospel, but I’ve read it a lot. There wasn’t…
I’m warring against the year-end temptation to moan and groan about school. You would forgive me if I were to tell you I’m tired, wouldn’t you? But I refuse to allow myself to quit too soon emotionally, and it’s because I remember something wonderful happens around May of every year. In the last month of school,…
It is the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi, at over 27 miles long and 15 miles wide. Flathead Lake is flanked on either side by scenic highways, and in the spring you’ll want to travel the east side, where miles of cherry orchards bloom pink. Once you get around the lake, it’s…
If you’ve read Blameless, you’ll know I’m a recovering tardy person. So yesterday I got in the shower on time and made sure I was in the car and on the way to school by 10:45. This gave me enough time to get into the lobby and be ready for my two third-year students whom…
His name was Brother Charlie. (Some people, because of the enormity of their personalities, never have a last name.) He was a cheerful, endearing Black man at Miller Heights Baptist Church, and we always hoped it was his turn to pray. “Oh Lord,” he would call out, “Thank you for shakin’ my feeble body and…
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