Category: Uncategorized

           In the spirit of all the most popular 12-step recovery programs, let me stand before you and make a confession: My name is Mary Ann and I was a college sorority babe. A Chi Omega, to be exact.             Okay, maybe “babe” is a stretch, but bring on the stereotypes. I can take it,… Continue reading Knowing You Belong

    Redneck sushi.     That’s what came to mind as I listened to a friend describe how her very cute, petite, sweet, college-aged daughter ate a raw minnow recently just to prove to a bunch of guys she would really do it. They were all fishing and the boys were doing what boys sometimes do… Continue reading Don’t Take the Bait!

           I understand that one of the signs of getting certifiably old is the propensity to talk too freely and frequently about one’s health problems. Well, roll out the welcome mat and pass the Metamucil — I have officially arrived in Oldsville.             In reality, I don’t enjoy discussing or writing about the random, frustrating… Continue reading Mining Gold in the Suffering

 “You are thinking WAY too much,” I told myself as I stood frozen over my ball during a recent round of golf. I wasn’t playing particularly well (no surprise there) and the worse I played, the more frantically I tried to exorcise the demons in my golf game.  Every time I was about to hit… Continue reading Keep it Simple!

When I see what Winston can do to one of his chew toys in a couple of hours, it makes me glad my dog likes me. Winston chomps through his playthings like a lion with a t-bone, forcing me to throw away the pitiful remnants of countless squeaky toys and ropes that couldn’t withstand the… Continue reading Jesus Offers Peace for “Tugheads”

   Have you ever noticed that the harder we try to have fun, the less fun we seem to have?     Holding onto fun is like clutching sand – the tighter we try to grip it, the more it slips through our fingers.     I’m recalling trips to Disney World and other colossal “fun quests”… Continue reading Let the Good Stuff Find You

            Most of us have probably stopped at some point in our lives and thought about the things we’d do if we found out we only had a short time to live. In fact, a hit song by country star Tim McGraw about that very subject — “Live Like You Were Dying” – got a… Continue reading I Ate Like I Was Dying

            I’ll never forget the first time I spotted my dog, Winston, sitting on top of the picnic table on our back deck. He looked exceedingly cute and strangely regal, like Simba from “The Lion King.” I couldn’t imagine what prompted Winston to climb up on top of the table, but it quickly became his… Continue reading Life Looks Better From On High

    It’s certain that no one this side of heaven can wrap their minds around all that God is, or does. He’s way too big to fit in our tiny intellectual and theological cubby holes. But He does give us glimpses.     In fact, sometimes, if we quiet our noisy hearts, we’ll discover Him in… Continue reading Out of the Orphanage

     Ever seen one of those apocalyptic, “after-the-nuclear-holocaust” sci-fi movies that shows disoriented, zombie-like people aimlessly wandering through devastated streets, looking for someone or something familiar?     I feel like I lived that scene during a recent trip to Wal-Mart as stunned shoppers discovered that the store was being renovated and rearranged. Can you say,… Continue reading Change is Good … Sometimes