Part I 2024 is an opportunity for a fresh start, perhaps even PRAYERFUL RESOLUTIONS! I love new beginnings . . . a new book to read . . . a new season with its unique flowers . . . and the New Year with all its opportunities for do-overs! Come 2024, many of us will [...]
Do you know how to rest? I typically write about running your race and finishing well. To do either one, however, rest is required. It is a little different than collapsing in exhaustion. How do we do that? Perhaps change our focus from what needs to be done to what is?? Put your feet up [...]
I treasure this Psalm of Thankfulness as it is a part of my faith heritage. These carefully chosen words express the heart of an artist, my paternal grandmother, Lucile Wilson Parsell. Since my grandfather was incapacitated with Parkinson's Disease when my dad was only thirteen, she supported their family thereafter. Thankfully, "Nana" was a graduate of [...]
INTERNATIONALLY . . . Almost a year after the attacks of 9/11, in the Czech Republic, in the city of Prague, a dear woman recognized me as an American and extended her condolences. I was stunned. She wanted me to know how much she and many others grieved with and for the United States. I [...]
I want Christmas to be about Jesus' birthday, O' Holy Night, the second chapter of Luke, and the humble human beginnings of our Messiah and Savior. He is the gift that matters, the gift that changes everything, our gift of HOPE. Given our profit-driven shopping season, however, it can be quite a challenge to focus [...]
Fun traditions and good memories are often linked with Thanksgiving . . . the whole family crowded into Grandma's house, a typically overcooked turkey, but yummy mashed potatoes and gravy, endless football games, and of course pumpkin pie with whipped cream. Some families go around the table encouraging each person to identify one thing they [...]
OUR KING: You are our Creator God, the true ruler of this universe, the King of Kings. Father, please call us, your people, to humility before You. Give us ears to hear You that we may humble ourselves under your mighty hand (1 Peter 5:6). We thank you for the gift of choice you have [...]
No matter who is in the White House, ADONAI REMAINS ON HIS THRONE. The King of Kings has not changed nor will He. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Our citizenship in the United States of America is secondary—not primary. Our first allegiance is to Father God, our Creator, our [...]
HERITAGE: Purchased in 1943, this little angel decorated my parents’ first Christmas tree and every one thereafter for 57 years. Our Christmas angel was always placed on the very top of our tree—the crowning glory. As the decades passed, she was lovingly repaired by Mom, and Dad re-wired her several times. Most recently, my sister-in-law [...]
Set in the 1950’s with capable acting, The Gathering is a nostalgic, heart-warming Christmas movie. Unexpectedly, the opening scene introduces DEATH as a life-changing force in the form of a terminal diagnosis. The recipient, Adam Thornton (Ed Asner), is a powerful, proud businessman with a strong personality and a back trail of broken relationships. His [...]
