Author: maryanncrum

   With all that’s going on in this world, if you never feel even a twinge of fear, I’m guessing you a.) are in a coma, b.) don’t watch TV, or c.) have learned to unswervingly trust the goodness and sovereignty of God.    As for me, “a” and “b” don’t apply, and while I… Continue reading Grace to Face a Zombie

 “Breathe, Mrs. Crum. Breathe.”    “Well, okay,” I remember thinking. “Sounds like a good idea.”    So I took a breath.    And then, as my brain cells slowly clicked on, it occurred to me, “Why’s somebody telling me to breathe? No one should have to tell me to do that.”    I was struggling… Continue reading Getting Back to Basics

   The last time I felt like this, I was standing on the rim of Haleakala volcano in Maui, Hawaii, waiting to see the sun come up over the other side of the crater.    I didn’t hike 10,000 feet to the volcano’s summit. Instead, I was a terrified passenger in a little rental car… Continue reading On the Crater’s Edge

     At what age is it okay to stop trying to acquire a taste for things we’ve never liked?     I’m not sure, but I’m giving myself permission.     At this point in my life, I’ve officially given up on ever liking oysters, for example. No matter how you dress up an oyster, it… Continue reading I’m Done Acquiring Tastes

   “I sure hope no one comes up my driveway right now.”     That’s what I always think when I’m out mowing our yard, which has been often this summer here in the rainforest.     My desire to remain hidden from humanity while working in my yard is born out of compassion for any unwitting… Continue reading We’re Not Invisible

            Statistics mean a lot more when you become one.             We’re bombarded with so many statistics on such a regular basis that it’s pretty easy to forget that these cold numbers represent warm human beings.             Take the facts and figures related to the economy, for example. Volatile stock market gains and losses, new… Continue reading Only One Stat Matters

        Okay, this is the last column about my recent trip to the Left Coast … probably. Unless inspiration forces me at gunpoint to write another one.  I realize you may feel like you’re being held hostage in a neighbor’s family room watching endless slides of their trip to Dollywood. “And here’s little Frank Jr. on… Continue reading Loving What God Loves

    There are so many things I am not. Young, trendy and techie are three of those.     That could explain why I felt like a dinosaur when my husband and I recently visited our son, his wife and our granddaughter in Silicon Valley, California.     In my last column, I described some of our… Continue reading A Dinosaur in Silicon Valley

          Planes, trains and automobiles. Crowds, chaos and claustrophobia.           Long trips always cause me to wonder, “Is where I’m going worth what it’s taking to get there?”           My husband and I recently journeyed out to the San Francisco area to visit our son, his wife and their adorable baby. (I checked—it’s not tacky to call one’s… Continue reading The Journey is Worth It

            There is so much I don’t know.             I had no idea, for example, that deer bark. Seems I’ve heard about male deer snorting or grunting while pursuing a female, but …. oops, wait a minute … maybe I’m thinking about human guys. Well, anyway, I didn’t know that deer ever barked like dogs.… Continue reading I Know Deer Can Bark