Hidden Pictures
This week, we’ve been having so much fun with a Hidden Pictures Sticker Fun book from Highlights (remember those as far back as 1946?) We’re giggling over the teacup hidden within an armpit or a banana that’s a man’s tie. We find toothbrushes in the rafters, socks in the leg of a dinner table, and […]
He Is
In my home this morning, I tell my daughters about the call and response we might say in church this morning. If somebody says, “He is risen!” we would exclaim, “He is risen indeed!” Indeed! Our friend calls on the phone, and my oldest shouts, “He is risen!” The friend replies, “He is risen indeed!” […]
And Then There Were Violets
In the caked mud by the side of our house, I notice bright wild violets. How can they grow here? I bend down to see the world from their perspective. They remind me of a day I stumbled upon a field of violets deep in the shaded woods. They seemed painted there–out of place […]
Remotely Controlled
Today at the park, I see a remote-controlled airplane turn loops and dives against the blue sky. The plane arches up high above us and then engages in a spiraling nose dive. Next, a barrel roll. Now a smooth glide across the landscape. Just when the plane achieves that peaceful flight, it spins again, flying […]
Pysanky and Kistkas: Ukrainian Easter Eggs with Children
Today I learn two new words: Pysanky (the ancient art of writing on eggs with wax) and Kistka (the stylus one uses that allows melted wax to drip through a hole to write on the egg). My most crafty neighbor invites my children over to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs. The kistka looks like this: You […]
Help, Protect, and Advise
Now that my youngest can ride her bike, she pedals off into the sunset while exploring the rolling biking trails of Central Pennsylvania. You just can’t stop her. Last night, my husband takes my daughter to a biking trail, and my biking expert neighbor joins him. “I’m sorry, but the cyclist in me can’t handle […]
On This Day: A Promise to Yourself
On this day, I will, as Oswald Chambers writes, let God “fling me out.” Let God fling you, my friend reminds me all week. She’s talking about letting God send me out into those unknown and unsafe purposes, those amazing and unimagined plans. Before school, I push my daughter on the swing, flinging her as […]
When You’re Not the Best
I’m watching my oldest at track and field practice. She’s her own girl, running and jumping (something I’ve never done on a team), and I’m amazed at how different we are. She gets in the backseat of the car and rests her chin in her hands. As she gazes out the window, she says, “I […]
Hobbling Along
This morning in church, I introduce myself to the family in front of me. The wife uses crutches from an injury. “What neighborhood do you live in?” I ask. Most folks who go to this church live in nearby neighborhoods. It’s a satellite church from our main church building. We meet in an elementary school, […]
The Thrill of Surrender
I’m stuck in bed with a fever, and I read The Saving Life of Christ by Major M. Ian Thomas. I underline in the brightest red these words: “Relate everything, moment by moment as it arises, to the adequacy of what He is in you, and assume that His adequacy will be operative . . […]