Keep me as the apple of Your eye;Hide me in the shadow of Your wings… (Psalms 17: 8) It’s fall—and it’s also my favorite time of year. The crisp air makes it perfect for viewing the changing leaves and sitting by the fire—and buying freshly harvested apples. I love apples. My favorites are Arkansas Blacks and Stayman Winesap. […]
“Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid.” (1 Cor. 1:18-21 The Message) I overheard a conversation recently between a mother and her (approximately ) 8-year-old son. SON: Mom, do you know […]
First, forgive me for my silence on this blog. I haven’t forgotten my readers or my mission. I just took a little break to teach some of what I know about creative writing to college students. Although Dennis and I are retired from our full-time jobs, we’re still teaching online. Now I have more mental […]
I’m a whistler. I admit it. But I come by it honestly. My dad was a whistler, too. In fact, the family could locate him in the house or in the yard just by following the sound. Maybe he’d be rendering a Southern Gospel tune, a hymn, or a ‘40s classic, but we always knew […]
…I learned from the Ya-Yas. Not from the Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells, although that’s a fine read. I’m referring to my own self-named group of oldest and dearest friends. See, when I was 4 years old, our family moved from one small South Alabama town to another 40 miles away. […]
Disneyland might the happiest place on earth, but the home is by far the most powerful place. I’m working on the book version of this blog and the more I read and study on the concepts and developments of self-worth, the more I realize that this is true. The home holds great power. Here’s a […]
It’s hard to say which was the most traumatic—when my first son left for college or when the last son flew the nest. Since I only have two children, I didn’t get the comparison of middle child attrition. When number one son left, I grieved for weeks. Part of the sadness was because, well, he […]
Recently I had my college English composition students write “process” essays that describe a how-to situation. One of the topic options I gave them was “How to Take an Amazing Selfie.” From those who chose that topic, I learned a lot of valuable information on how to make myself, LIKE, look AMAZING to LIKE my […]
I asked my college English Composition classes recently to write definitions of abstract concepts, like “love, success, and home.” I got some interesting and insightful answers. Then I asked them to define “respect.” At least one-third of them mentioned how it applies to revering and honoring the elderly (like me). I asked them why they […]
This is Barbie if she had aged normally. Back in the 70s there was a Clairol hair dye commercial that said, “You’re Not Getting Older—You’re Getting Better,” and the ad went on to imply that even though I was getting older, I could look younger if I used their product. […]