The Gift of Music

Last weekend, I sang in our choir Christmas presentation. Unless you are a singer, I’m not sure you can fully understand the joy it brings to stand side-by-side with others who are singing. A camaraderie exists in blending voices and finally “getting” difficult passages. While the audience hears seemingly effortless, beautiful music, only vocalists know […]

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The Gift of Hospitality

Years ago, when I was leading a girls’ discipleship group, we completed a spiritual gifts survey for each person in the group. I was surprised to see the results. Many of the girls scored me high on the gift of hospitality. I never considered hospitality one of my gifts, but then I realized hosting these […]

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The Gift of Family Nostalgia

Last weekend, our family spent an evening at Tweetsie Christmas. Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, has been in existence since I was a child. It’s one of those places you remember from childhood, and later take your children, and this year, our grandchildren. Holiday events, items, and history, passed on to successive generations, […]

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Giving Good Gifts

Black Friday. Cyber Monday. Pre-Black Friday. Early Cyber Monday. Extended Cyber Monday. What used to be single days has turned into weeks, or a month, of special deals. At this time of the year, we are bombarded with incentives to purchase gifts—the right gifts, the perfect gifts. But have you considered that the best gifts […]

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With Thanksgiving

Historically we think of Thanksgiving as a time of feasting. In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims had been on American soil less than a year. During that time, over half the original colonists died from disease or starvation. The Pilgrims hosted the first feast to celebrate life with their Indian friends and give thanks […]

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Lessons in Creativity

This week, I attended a charcuterie board class. I’ve created charcuterie boards before, but usually just placed items willy-nilly, not realizing there was a plan to how it should be done. I didn’t know you start by placing items in a diagonal line and build from there. I’d never thought about color and height when […]

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A Season of Brown

Last week, my husband and I went to the mountains for several days, an early celebration of our 43rd anniversary. On the way, I mentioned that this fall has been a season of brown, a hot, late fall with scant color. Sometimes life feels brown, times when everything seems drab and colorless, without vitality or […]

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Broken Vessels

While on our trip to Italy, Turkey, and Greece, we visited many ancient sites and viewed everyday items archeologists managed to unearth and piece together. As I looked at these items, I realized these broken vessels are our window to the past, a snapshot of the life and times of those who lived long before […]

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Decluttering Your Life

Last week, I did a major clean out of three closets. As I worked, I was surprised to discover clothes in a little-used closet that dated back to my college years, almost five decades ago! Although I’m still not finished, I am happy with my progress. Cleaning out isn’t limited to clothing or household items. […]

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