Dear Friends,I don't have much to give you tonight. No witty stories about Bubby. No profound words to inspire you. But I want to give you something...so for the next few minutes, I'm just going to write to you some things from my heart...some things that I tell myself throughout the day. It will probably be random...because I'm random. But it's from me to you...because I like you a lot and I just want to give something to you. I want you to be glad. I want you to love life.Here goes...(By the way, Bubby is chewing on my shirt right now. I'm letting him because I'm glad he's here and well, somehow it's keeping him entertained for a few minutes.)Today is a gift! Did you look out the window today? I hope you did because life isn't all about computers and to-do lists and cleaning and eating a[...]

Hey Mom. Please don't interrupt me. I've got some highly important business to attend to.Well, you see this here window crank? Basically, I have to crank this like a bazillion times a day, just to keep the earth spinning on its axis. I know, I know, it's a hard job-- just be glad I'm here to do it.I'll let you in on a little secret. If it weren't for my amazing man-skills and technically advanced cranking abilities, I'm afraid this whole place would simply collapse. Did I mention how HIGHLY IMPORTANT this job is?So, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna get back to the ole crankity-crank-crank.Let's see, does it go right then left...or is it left then right?KABOOM!May-day, may-day! It appears we've hit some turbulence and I've just been ruckusly knocked from my post!Now, (grunt) if I could j[...]

I know that winter has only just begun, and I really have been enjoying it, really, but it does help me to remember that spring is coming. Warmth is coming.I planted over a hundred daffodil and tulip bulbs in our yard this fall. I put them down in a dark hole. I covered them up with dirt. And now they're resting...and waiting.I planted them because I needed hope. I need to know that the cold, dark months won't last forever. I need to know that something beautiful is just around the corner. I needed something lovely to look forward to when the wintry winds come and the sun hides his face and all is gray and bleak...for a season.And isn't life that way, too?I've been reading in the book of Hebrews and I long to express to you the hope I've found. Life is hard sometimes. Things look bleak now[...]

Hey there, Bubby. Whatcha got there?Well, mama...(smack, crunch)...this here is a Biter Biscuit.It's pretty much (chomp, munch) the best thing ever in-bented.This little thing right here is full of delectable goodness.Melts on your mouth and in your hands!I just take a bite (smack, crunch) outta this thing and I get this warm, fuzzy feelin all over my belly...And before I knooow it, (speech begins to slur) this whole big world is just one...big... haaapppy place. (Hiccup.)Here, Mom--you gotta try this!No thanks, Bubby. I know what you mean, though. That's how mommy feels about chocolate.Chocolate--schmocklate...this stuff is incredible.They're even better if you just cram em down the ole hatch fast as you can and wait to breath till later.Oh, foo-y. They disappear so fast. Surely there's g[...]

This year Thanksgiving didn’t go quite like I had imagined it would. Poor Pa got the flu so Mom and Dad weren’t able to come for a visit after all. Ironically, I got the flu, too, and felt pretty crummy.I was tempted to mope and pout but it seemed so strange to choose to be ungrateful on Thanksgiving of all days! Besides, I truly have so much to be thankful for. And life is too fleeting not to say the things that matter most. So, today, I’ve narrowed down 5 blessings that I’m extremely thankful for.My PaMy Dad is the most faithful man I know. He’s gotten up every day for all his working life, and worked at a job that’s been grueling and that is by no means his favorite, so he could faithfully provide for his family. While his body now suffers the effects of years of intense labor, he rema[...]

A few weeks ago, we took Bubby to his first pumpkin patch.The wind was a-blowin as we pulled up to the old farm and loaded our little guy up into a very nice wagon. So nice of a wagon it was that we were wishing it was our very own. It had great wheels for off-roadin'. And off-roadin' in a punkin patch is just what, I'm sure, Mr. Bubbers always wanted to do.Although Bubby was in desperate need of a nap, he tried to be as fascinated as possible with all the new things we had to show him.I love Autumn. I love pumpkin patches.They remind me that the year is coming to a close, and that God has blessed me in countless ways all year long...big and small ways."Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." (Psalm 68:19)While we were at the pumpkin patch, we[...]

I am drawn to the woods. There's something about a deep canopy of trees and a floor of withering leaves and moss that allures me, no, compels me to enter in. Is it the quiet? The rugged beauty? The solace that I find there?The mysterious life that I see when I take time to be still? To stoop down and pause and just observe?I identify myself with the beauty-seekers. The God-hunters.God says that if we look for Him, we'll find Him, because He's not far from each one of us."...so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us." (Acts 17:26-28)I believe that's why I often steal away to come here. Because for me, the Maker of my soul is clearly seen here. He's vivid. He's real. And He's oh, so beautiful.I love be[...]

Mr. Bubbers, may I have your attention please? Today I want to introduce you to something very wonderful.What I am about to show you is one of my favorite things.Mr. Bubbers, this here is a ROCK! Now, rocks are great things because they are made out of dirt. And dirt is wonderful because it makes you dirty. And if you have dirt on you, then you know that you are having lots and lots of fun.Rocks have provided much enjoyment to me and as your mama, it is my responsibility to make sure you are aware of life's greatest enjoyments.You can throw these things in water and they make cool splashing noises. You can pile them up and they make nice walls or big "mountains" for your army men.If you look underneath them, you can find amazing little bugs and worms and stuff.Or you can just scoop them up[...]

Photo credit God, in His Word, talks about a kind of living life that is truly living: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” I Timothy 6:17-19I love the following poem by my favorite poet, Ralph Cushman, because he expresses how there is seeing, and then there is truly seeing. Lord, help us to taste and see that You are good. Open our spiritual eyes to truly see as You've created us to. Reborn by Ralph Spaulding Cushman I did not kn[...]