My Mom

This Sunday I will celebrate my first Mother’s Day without a mother. After a year-long illness, my dear mom recently passed on to be with Jesus.

Mom was eighty.

Not only will I miss mom terribly, I found myself feeling sad over all the things she was never able to enjoy in this vast and amazing world. There were so many activities mom was never able to do, places she was never able to see, and experiences she did not have—partly because she willingly sacrificed so much for the seven of us kids and our families; partly because she simply ran out time.
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The Final Enemy

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor. 15:26)

Those words have been stuck in my head these last two weeks–and the reminders are everywhere.

As you read in last week’s beautiful post by my fellow blogger Allison about the unexpected death of her sister Jodi, death still seems to be winning. The previous week marked what would have been my dad’s 86th birthday. We lost him last July, just 8 weeks after my mom lost her battle with cancer on June 3rd. Her birthday on May 1st is not a day I’m looking forward to, nor... Read More

My Sister Jodi

My sister Jodi died unexpectedly yesterday. I’m so incredibly sad, and I still can’t believe it. My heart breaks that she’s gone and that I can’t talk with her. I know she’s with Jesus—she’s happy, fulfilled, and satisfied in the Lord; and that gives me comfort. I love you, Jodi, and I look forward to seeing you again when Jesus comes back or takes me home. Rest in peace, my dear sister.
My sister was sick a lot during her life. She struggled with drug addiction. After one terrifying, almost-fatal overdose at 50 years old, she was convinced... Read More

“Recalculating”

A comedian once mused that he wished someone made a GPS for husbands. It went something like this:

GPS: “Compliment your wife on her appearance.”
Comedian: “Hey honey, you look really good tonight.”

GPS: “Ask her about her day.”
Comedian: “How was your day, sweetheart?”

GPS: “Pretend to be listening.”
Comedian: “Oh…yep…really…”

GPS: “Compliment your wife’s hair.”
Comedian: “Uhmm…Hey, your hair doesn’t... Read More

The Greatest Comeback Story Ever

In Michigan, we had a crazy mild winter. To top it all off, in March we hit all-time record highs in the mid and upper 80s. I for one was thrilled. Bring it on! I love seeing plants sprout back to life from the stark, cold barrenness of winter. I’m already dreaming of savoring the lush tomatoes from my garden that make BLTs so delightful as I sip iced tea on the backyard patio.

I tilled my garden on March 17th! Unheard of for us north-dwellers.

Flowers are popping up all over the place. Trees are blossoming. Life is exploding all around. Anticipation of the return... Read More

Just Tell the Truth. Please.

I don’t know about you, but I’m so fed up with the shenanigans and the mudslinging attacks of the political climate in this major election year that I just turn it all off. I’m sorry, but I’m tired of the lies. Whether it’s shading the truth, telling half-truths, not telling the whole truth, or just outright bold-faced lies, I’m sickened by it all.

Would somebody please just tell the truth!?!

In his opening lines in a letter of encouragement to a young church leader he was mentoring, the apostle Paul penned these words: “for... Read More

Emotions–Good or Bad?

In his book Beautiful Outlaw, John Eldredge points out that it was “God who gave us a sense of humor.” He goes on to ask, “Do you really think Jesus came to take it away?”

Of course, the answer is no way! Jesus was hardly dry and humorless. But Eldredge’s question got me to thinking about emotions in general – are they good or are they bad.

Emotions often get a bad rap, but the fact that Jesus was deeply moved by a close friend’s death show that He didn’t come to take them away (John 11:33-36). Emotions are a legitimate part of being made... Read More

The Human Connection

 I took my little dog for a walk this morning. It’s unseasonably warm where we live, so I thought I really should get out with Lely and enjoy nature a bit.

 I love the outdoors—the trees, birds, squirrels, sunrises, sunsets, storms, sunshine, mountains, oceans. I love it all. And sometimes its beauty can bring me to tears. Do you know what I mean?

 And I love my dog.  She’s sweet, cute, and a little cuddler. She’s my buddy, always following me around the house and settling in near me. She knows I’m the one who caves when she begs for food, so during meals... Read More

Love is blind . . .

My bride of 35 years recently brought home a sign that she wants to hang in our soon-to-be-remodeled bathroom. [The soon-to-be-remodeled part being . . . as soon as I can get to it. And we all know how that goes. ] Here’s the sign:



It makes me laugh. We do a lot of that around our house. But it’s more than funny. What hits me is the proverbial sounding wisdom that it whimsically communicates. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear that Solomon wrote it in the Proverbs. He didn’t. (I looked.) But he could have.

Why do we laugh?... Read More

The Marriage Killer

Nagging is a marriage killer. So says a study reported in the recent Wall Street Journal article—“Meet the Marriage Killer.”

The article defines the nagging problem as the “interaction in which one person repeatedly makes a request, the other person repeatedly ignores it and both become increasingly annoyed.”

The article goes on to point out that every couple experiences nagging to some degree, but it can grow to “be as potentially dangerous to a marriage as adultery or bad finances.” A couple will start bickering about the nagging and... Read More