I’m just going to say it: I love all things gluten. (Dear gluten-intolerant friends, please don’t hate me.) When Matt and I went to Israel a few years ago, I almost wept at the entire table full of different kinds of breads laid out in baskets for every meal. I dipped humus with a different…
The furnace went out last weekend, but I did not cry. Although it was 4 degrees outside and 55 degrees inside when we woke the next morning, I rolled with the punches and did just fine through the whole trial. But yesterday I went down into the crawl space for the first time, to put…
From where I was sitting, I could only see her hat and shoulders. The chair in front of the living room window blocked the rest of her body, but I knew immediately who it was. It was the woman in our subdivision who rapidly laps the circle of homes multiple times per day. “That’s at…
We’ve been watching The Chosen video series. I admit that I was skeptical at first, because I generally don’t like anyone imposing on me their cinematic view of who Jesus is. But these shows are heart-melting good. Before I tell you why I like The Chosen, I need to tell you about the conversation Matt and…
I held my grandbaby on my hip for 15 minutes in the pharmacy line the other day, only to get to the front and be told the prescription that should have been done earlier wasn’t even filled yet. But while I was waiting in line, I read words that squeezed my heart. It was a…
A few friends have asked me recently, “Have you stopped writing?” I’ve been blogging for a decade and have written well over 1000 articles on my own website and contributing to others, but I’ve barely written anything over the last year. Except in my private Growth Book. King Solomon, with his special gift of wisdom,…
Oh my goodness, I am Vicki! I thought to myself. With only a few hours left before 62 women were to show up at our church camp for the weekend retreat, I was staring down at a spiral notebook, with a page of final preparations that had to be completed. The women who had come…
We watched two different programs on television recently. One was about Chip and Joanna Gaines expanding their silo footprint, which included creating a Wiffle Ball field. The second program we watched was the track and field events in the Olympics, and it just so happens that our son-in-law went to school with the gold medal…
Yesterday I drove down to get the mail. As I drove back home, I passed a little black girl who lives in our neighborhood. She waved an exuberant hello as I drove past, and I returned the wave. She made me smile. That’s when children came to mind. Children! I’ve been thinking like an adult…
Friday was my last day to teach high school Spanish, after eight years in a job that has challenged me at every turn but has offered some of the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. Next Wednesday I’ll walk in to the school, administer the final exam, enter grades, and walk away. This morning I…
I shake cumin into my palm and toss it into the crockpot. Looks like a teaspoon to me. Not much different with picture hanging, where I’ve never used a ruler or a level but have found eyeballing it to suffice. Close enough. “Does it look good to a man riding by on a horse?” my…
The mirror tells the story of what the last months have been like for me. Black circles under my eyes speak of little sleep and great strain and sorrow. Blog post after blog post about suffering, with seemingly no end to that cloudy theme. This morning I woke up and fought the familiar battle to…
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