Live and Learn

           I grew up in a city that comedian Steve Martin once called “the armpit of the nation.” Anyone I meet who has ever passed through Terre Haute, Indiana, almost always comments, “Oh yea – I’ve been through there – it smells funny.”            As a kid, I had no idea that others considered my… Continue reading It’s Where We End Up That Matters

    There weren’t any in the produce section; various random racks around the big grocery store were empty. In frustration, I had to conclude that, yes, they had no bananas … they had no bananas that day.            I know that folks in other parts of the world are used to food shortages, but we… Continue reading Yes, We Have No Bananas

So many questions pop into my head every day as I interact with my dog, Winston – What kind of mood must God have been in when He made you? Did your mother drop you on your head when you were a puppy? And perhaps the most significant of them all: Who is the pet… Continue reading Who’s in Charge Here?

           Gee whiz, I feel so special. I keep getting emails from a lady who is the president of Publisher’s Clearing House (the sweepstakes people), personally addressed to ME and, get this – this lady is SO sure that I MIGHT win that she has even sent me a script to recite when the Prize… Continue reading You Gotta Enter to Win

           I recently read a story about a little boy who was trying in vain to reach a doorbell on a house. A kind pastor happened to be strolling by and saw the little boy’s predicament, so he walked over, reached over the boy’s shoulder and gave the doorbell a solid ring. “And now what,… Continue reading God Always Shows Up

           When I was a child, my older brother and I would often stay with my grandparents at their farm in Indiana. It seems almost cliché to talk about visiting grandparents on a farm – playing in the corn crib, riding on the tractor, going fishing, building forts in the woods, running through the corn… Continue reading Building a Legacy

           Although it is a whopping generalization with many exceptions, I’ve observed that men typically like to fix stuff and women like to fix people. For 30 years, I’ve watched my husband repair all kinds of vehicles, appliances, and gizmos, but when he has to deal with a complicated “people problem,” it’s apparent the man… Continue reading God Gives the Best Advice

           I think I’m finally beginning to get it: If we’re going to make a positive difference in this world, we must choose to focus not on what we’ve lost, but rather on what remains.            It’s a truth God has been trying to etch upon my heart, and He has recently given me an… Continue reading Let’s Focus On What Remains

           We sometimes hear athletes talk about being “in the zone.” It’s a magical place where body and mind click on all cylinders, potential and performance finally meet.            I have been “in the zone” a precious few times in my life – perhaps a couple of times playing high school basketball when it felt… Continue reading Living Out of the Zone

           I’m sure that when Christopher Columbus sailed off to unknown lands in the days of yore, the folks back home in Spain expected him to return bearing all sorts of exotic merchandise and food. That’s pretty much how I feel now when my husband goes on a solo voyage to the grocery store.           … Continue reading We Can’t Always Get What We Want…