The Artichoke Bonus, Part One

But Wait, There’s More!Artichokes are a favorite in my family. Lore has it that when my sister and I were small girls, my mother prepared a whole one for each of us, rather than giving us each a half.  She knew we would be full before getting close to the meaty heart, the prize of the […]


(continue reading)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

A Little Lesson in Omnipresence Last time I baked chocolate chip cookies, I discovered a crisis in my kitchen: My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe had disappeared. For years I had saved an empty bag of chips because the recipe on its back resulted in the best chocolate chip cookies I’d ever baked. I had carefully […]


(continue reading)

Handing it Over

Leaving it at His DoorstepIn my last post, I told of a family challenge facing my husband Rich and me. I closed with these words: I’m handing our dilemma over to God and sticking to my part of the covenant: love and forgiveness. Easier said than done, it turns out. I think I’ve handed it […]


(continue reading)

Freedom and Forgiveness

Choices My husband Rich and I spent some of our holiday weekend wrestling with drama. The details aren’t important; the gist is that we learned  of a hurtful situation a person close to us has been causing for some time, and that other well-meaning people have attempted to “protect” us by concealing the truth. If […]


(continue reading)

A Family Reunion

Auntie M. and Marlaina sharing M & Ms M &MsYesterday Rich and I had the privilege of witnessing a special reunion between a grandmother and her granddaughter. My Auntie M. suffers from dementia and lives in a care facility. Her daughter, Marcia, died suddenly at age 32 in 2000, leaving a five-year-old daughter, Marlaina. Marlaina […]


(continue reading)