...when your first best friend doesn't live next door.
No matter what grocery store we all frequent, we are faced with the latest editions of magazines offering to better our lives if we read their articles. There is always a new quiz to take and a new program to follow that will make us …
Autumn is a favorite season for many, and I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t enjoy the changing colors of the foliage, especially in a vineyard. Lake County is one of the most beautiful regions of California—rolling hills surrounding a large and natural lake; fertile valleys …
I was a momma’s girl through and through. I not only loved that lady with my whole heart, but relied on her for everything. When I fell in love and married, I had to release those proverbial apron strings. The problem was that I grabbed …
Waiting doesn’t come easily. I’d say it’s one of humanity’s greatest weaknesses. No one has to teach us to be impatient, and we practice it from birth. Just ask a new mother about how frustrating it is when her newborn child cries (or screams) to …
September. This has always been the “beginning” of the year for me, and beginnings mean preparation and equipping. Can you tell I’m an educator at heart? Except for the time when Gary attended Wheaton Graduate School, I have always considered September to be the first …
“Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God. Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.” (Sonny Salsbury & Andrae Crouch, 1978) I don’t want to go through …
Many of us have heard the advice to “live in the present.” A wise woman recently explained that when she begins to get stressed about her situation or begins to fear what might happen in the future, one of her loved ones asks her a …
Girls, you need a best friend! (If you don’t believe that, think again!) Allow me to tell you my story… In a tiny, rural town in Northern California lived a little, chubby, redheaded girl. She lived with her kind, aging parents in the country. Her …
If you’re anything like me, you hate making more trips to carry “stuff” than necessary. Whether it’s too many bags of groceries at once from the car, several loads of laundry piled high in a basket, or the entire collection of library books that I’ve …
This summer we visited some of the ancient ruins of the Mayan people. Over the years of traveling, I’ve learned about other ancient cultures in Europe, South America, and Asia, and I think each one is fascinating but mysterious, as well. I marvel at how …