Recently, I attended a baby shower for my daughter-in-law. It was a fun event with good food, lots of love and laughter, and plenty of presents  to stock the nursery. As I helped her load her car, I thought of all the time and preparation that went into the shower, but also the preparation involved […]

The new year is like a clean slate, a blank computer screen, an empty journal page yet to be filled. For some, a new year is exciting and refreshing, full of potential and possibilities, but others view it with dread. What holds us back, makes us fear, and prevents us from moving forward with joy […]

For some, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day involves travel, visiting, and busyness. For others, it’s a time to rest and recover from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Either way, the week after Christmas flies by and the new year rapidly arrives. How do you view the coming year? Do […]

Joy to the world. Peace on earth, goodwill toward man. Be of good cheer. These phrases are often mentioned in conjunction with Christmas, but do we actually experience any of these during December? I’ll confess, some years, I struggle to experience joy because the Christmas season feels like more added to the already burgeoning to-do […]

One of my fondest memories of Christmas is secret gift missions with my father, adventures that we referred to as “elfing around.” I remember the year my dad decided to have a local craftsman make a grandfather clock for Mama. Once the clock was finished, the challenge became how to get it home and keep […]

Over the last five months, our house has been a construction zone. We lived through the demo and reconstruction or several major areas and experienced unforeseen circumstances, delays, miscommunications, reassessments, errors, and do-overs.  But we’ve also seen the work of skilled craftsmen who care about quality and pleasing the customer. Now, we are enjoying the […]

  Have you noticed “perfect” is the new overused cultural word? You place a food order and no matter what you select the server’s response is “perfect!” You speak to a customer service rep, and regardless of the issue, the answer is “perfect!” Actually, if everything were perfect, you wouldn’t be calling customer service in […]

Sandwiched somewhere between Halloween and Christmas is a Thursday holiday that is rapidly losing prominence in the minds of millions of Americans – Thanksgiving. If you search hard, you might find a slim 50% off section of Thanksgiving cards, autumn decorations, and a turkey platter sandwiched amid multiple aisles of Christmas decorations. For many, Thanksgiving […]

In the days following the presidential election, social media blew up with angry rants. People engaged in verbal fisticuffs, demonstrated, and threatened to move to Canada. But amid all the outrage and verbiage, the missing element seemed to be hope; hope for the future and trust in the God who is able to use anyone […]

This has been one of the most contentious and difficult election cycles in our country. For months we’ve been bombarded with harsh, critical, angry, hurtful words via a variety of communication methods and from a plethora or voices. Now, with votes counted, many are stunned, discouraged and frustrated with the election outcome, while others are […]