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 […]
The last day of February is here, full of buds and birdsong. Before I plunge into the beauty of spring, I want to remember, with a grateful heart, the blessings of January and February. My littlest boy, who prayed for snow, running in the falling flakes and thanking God! The margin of January, waiting to […]
When I taught fourth grade, I assigned my students a nonfiction book report. To my surprise, one little girl did her report on Cinderella. When I told her Cinderella was fiction, she protested, “But I found it in the nonfiction section of the library!” Intrigued, I asked the school librarian. “Yes,” she informed me, “fairy tales […]
This morning, on my way out the door, I glimpsed a vase of roses on the mantel. When did my husband sneak those inside without me noticing? Deep red and romantic, their message is clear. Before I met that giver of roses, the meaning of flowers wasn’t always so apparent. When I was a teenager, […]
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 […]
Recently I passed a sign at a nearby recreation center that read: “BALLET BELLY DANCING CLASS!” A tiny remembering part of me lit up inside, whispering, “Maybe you should sign up.” Simultaneously, every other part of me screamed, “Absolutely not! You’d be miserable with embarrassment!” That wee whispering part of me was born the first […]
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 last time I was truly, blissfully happy was when I was writing a letter. It made me feel like Fay Wade, the dear elderly woman who mentored me in my faith when I was in middle school. She wrote me encouragements inside cards with old-fashioned florals on the front. Her penmanship complemented the cards. […]
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 […]
Dear Jess, When you asked me to send you a picture of “little Carol,” and one afternoon I looked through old photo albums to grant your request, I had no idea you were plotting to give me my own Kirklin/Tudor picture book. (I will treasure it always!) Your generosity, it seems, is limitless! A few […]
A Children's Book World 