The rain has ceased, and the green plants look aglow in the dim light. In the midst of springtime, a mystery is drifting down, settling around us, like mist. It is whispering the “magic deeper still” Aslan spoke of in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe . . . the magic that began before […]
Category Archives: Devotionals
Bedtime for Frances was first published in 1960, and it is still in print! Why? The wording is perfect and playful, the illustrations (involving anthropomorphic badgers) feel familiar yet fascinating, it is both humorous and (for children) mysterious, and . . . we are all Frances! Well, at least I am. No matter how old I […]
Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.” – William Shakespeare I have a confession to make: I cry when I return home from road trips. All those hours gazing out the car window, I’m free to imagine my perfect life . . . the country house surrounded by a wide circle of trees, the […]
Selah: a pause during which to reflect I experienced Selah last Thursday—both the definition above and the two-year-old girl version. My lifelong friend was moving, so I had the privilege of watching her wispy-curled, rosebud-mouthed, Shirley Temple look-a-like, Selah! Keeping a two-year-old put my normal productivity on pause. We played with the nesting doll and […]
I glimpse wings from the window of my bedroom and walk outside for a closer look. I’d read that Gregg’s Blue Mistflower was a butterfly magnet, but this? Six pairs of wings! I drop to my knees, snapping pictures. The monarchs fold their wings like praying hands while sipping. Then, effortlessly, they flutter above my […]
I tried to memorize him before he left and again when he returned. After a weekend of zooming down country roads on a rented motorcycle, John came home refreshed. We sat in the white rocking chairs on the back patio, and he told me stories about his trip . . . one fairly close call, […]
A group of us gathered, having spent more than a decade apart, to pray for our friend. Almost strangers, because of the stretch of years, we sat on her living room rug and began to pray. I was scared—scared of the shock of sadness from seeing my friend so frail, wearing a wig. Scared of […]
My sister, Amy, is a cosmetologist. She once had a boss at a barber shop who daily criticized the women who worked there. “You should wear more make-up,” he’d tell one. “You really need to dye your hair,” he’d tell another. Venting, one of Amy’s coworkers said, “He thinks his opinion is fact!” With that […]
I have been re-reading an uplifting little book called Simple Pleasures. Today, I experienced one of my own. After a day of focused homeschooling that lasted until 4, the piano beckoned me. How rarely I give in to life’s supreme pleasures! I let myself get distracted by errands, chores, screens, fatigue. A few months ago, […]
The first time I heard “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton, when I was just a girl, it struck me so deeply I began to cry. I ran downstairs, with urgency, to tell my mother how much I loved her. Do you remember that song? Dolly’s family was poor, so someone dropped off a […]
A Children's Book World 