What God has Joined Together….

Elaine, Rob, and Judi …Is Sometimes more than Two! My dad said to me, the other day, “Elaine’s [my daughter] marriage to Rob has been good for the whole family.” I didn’t ask him what he meant, because it seemed obvious to me. Rob and his family are awesome. He has a younger brother, Ricky, who […]


Speedy Answers

Rich, Mike, and me He Speaks Through Strangers Last weekend Rich and I joined our dear friend Mike for brunch after we attended our U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary meeting together. In previous weeks, we had been to orientation sessions for a new ministry of our church and we had questions–chewing on those questions along with our omelets seemed […]


Grief, Music, and Weeds

Clearing out Crud Yesterday would have been my mom’s 74th birthday. I miss her most on her birthday, when I’m honoring her memory instead of baking her a cake. The week had brought sadness even before her birthday: News that a dear friend had died. News that another dear friend’s brave battle against cancer appears […]


Waiting on Tomatoes

Caspian Pink! Growing Patience More than any other character trait, patience challenges me. I often pray for more patience, despite my friends’ half-joking warnings that it’s a dangerous thing to request. Each summer I grow a “Juliet” grape tomato for salads and a larger heirloom for slicing. Last year’s “Black Krim” was incredibly tasty, but […]


Purified like Gold

Character and Commitment Every relationship has its troubles, and ours is no exception. Before we became engaged, Rich and I went through a short season of great upheaval and turmoil. During that time, we said “goodbye, forever” to each other at least four times. These partings never arose from anger; rather, they were born of […]