Friday Tidings

I stand at my bedroom window and gaze out at the wooded valley. I can only see into the woods and nothing beyond. That’s the way life is too—peering through a narrow window trying to see ahead. I'm not facing any of life's storms right now. I’m thankful for the peace—although I know many are suffering through trials today. My finger traces the window frame as I ponder the words of a young woman whose life is ebbing away. She also looks through a window—but this window is incredibly special. Perhaps because she’s closer to heaven, she can now see things I cannot. Or perhaps it’s because she’s slowing down long enough to truly see. But through her window she can peer into a heavenly realm. She can reach through this heavenly window and offer her prayers. The Lord gladly receives each one.  "You don't even have to wonder about your motives for asking. Just ask freely. God loves giving good gifts and He knows what is best." ...

A humanitarian group, No Greater Love, conducted a national survey, asking children why our nation celebrates Memorial Day. Sadly, as the results were tallied, most children thought it was just a long weekend of barbecues and parties. Some children were excited because many swimming pools would now be open for the hot summer days ahead. All of those crosses mean much more than picnics and parties. As an American, I’ve always been free because of what our nation was willing to do…. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty . John F. Kennedy As an American, I’ve never seen a real battle, but for many, they’ll never forget the ones they fought or their comrades who died fighting. The story of America's quest for freedom is inscribed on her history in the blood of her pa...

The boxes of my past were stacked one on top of the other. On a rainy day, I opened the oldest one first. Long ago, Mom laboriously glued my rudimentary pre-school and Kindergarten artwork into a huge scrapbook. I felt the rough texture of each finger-painted picture. Turning the pages, I followed my progression—messy scribbles, erase marks, lots of teacher's red ink. Learning didn’t seem to come easy for me. I noticed that when my teachers wrote something encouraging, better work seemed to follow. We all recall those special teachers—the ones who reach behind the failure, and see something worthy to hold onto.  Yet, the red ink marks told a story. The bold letter grades shouted their disapproval of my answers—magnifying how wrong I felt about myself. Not that there isn’t a place for red ink and grades, but the critical words written beneath those grades, or the ridicule in front of my classmates often hurt far more. As a youngster, I could already see th...

She's up before dawn, picking up stray socks, dirty dishes left in odd places, making her way to the coffee machine. She checks her work email, while grabbing things to pack up for everyone's lunch.  Looking at her meal planner, she gets dinner started in the crock-pot while laying out breakfast for her still slumbering family. She grabs a quick shower before the real morning routine begins. Her work life involves sandwiches, but not the edible kind. It’s filled with family needs spread between work breaks and lunchtime. School volunteer duties, conferences, dental appointments, and grocery shopping tend to fall on her. Once she walks in the door in the evening, she’s already been at it for over twelve hours. And now is her precious family time. She musters her energy reserves and tackles homework hassles, bill paying and balancing budgets, laundry, and bedtime stories before lovingly tucking her child in bed.  As it quiets down on...

I had two photos in my purse. Pulling them out, I slid them across the small table. She smiled. No doubt she could see the similarities in the couple, but also the unmistakable changes. She'd been pondering her upcoming wedding. Her sparking engagement ring didn’t quite match her pensive eyes. She was worried that she was too young to make a choice that was supposed to last a lifetime. Marriage is a journey—taking you some places you plan to go, some places you’d never expect to visit, and some places you’d wish you’d never heard of. Marriage takes you way beyond the ceremony and the change in relationship status on Facebook. I'm thankful I started young when I was filled with energy, hope, excitement, and love. Now for the marriage journey itinerary: About all those places you plan to go—you’ve probably already had long talks with your fiancé about these things—careers, kids and where you’d like to live. For us, none of our plans went the way we imagined....