Can you believe the first week of December is drawing to a close? I know. I can’t either. The holiday hustle and bustle is now officially here! Despite the frenzy, the sweetest season of peace and goodwill is alive and well here in the Ozarks. I pray it is in your neck of the woods, too. While life isn’t always …
After Thanksgiving our family spends the next several days preparing our home for Christmas. We trim the tree, hang the lights, and set out the Nativity. We dress our stair railing in green garland with bright red bows, display beautiful floral arrangements, and hang a pretty, white wreath on the front door. Oh—and let’s not forget the Baby Jesus window …
By now, we’ve eaten our fair share of turkey, potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Dinner guests have come and gone, Black Friday is but a memory, and November waved good-bye with a 30 degree temperature drop. One major holiday down and one more to go. Ahhh. This past Thanksgiving was a poignant one for our family. It was the first major …
As a little girl, nothing excited me more than Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Without a doubt, those were the three biggest holidays our family celebrated and occasions I remember the most. Each holiday was marked with reverence and given it’s due. There was never a question where our family would celebrate. It was better than any mall, shopping center, or …
This is the week. Crunch time. Time to gather our prettiest table linens, best dishes, and floral arrangements, and ready our homes for entertaining. We’ll cook, clean, and race to the finish as the big day approaches. Thanksgiving. Today as we skim past the busyness for a moment, I want you to do something. I want you to think about …
It hardly seems possible that Thanksgiving is next week. Next week! It’s been a busy season and I’ve had a lot of irons in the fire. My mama and a dear aunt had health crises, our teenager had minor dental surgery, there were school events to attend, church functions to help with, and meanwhile—I completed a major writing project and …
I love romance. I particularly adore those swoon-worthy heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, knee-knocking moments that leave me breathless in a good way. In our reality T.V. world where romance seems to be more about shock value than the sanctity of what God intended, it’s refreshing when books and movies get it right. By “get it right,” I mean we don’t see the …
In today’s world “politically correct” seems to be the popular buzz phrase. And if we’re Christians, heaven help us because that ups the ante. Using prudence when handling hot-button topics seems wise. We certainly don’t want to share our beliefs too loudly. That might offend. We mustn’t be too bold, joyful, or overzealous in spreading the message of the Gospel. It …
As we approach the holiday season, I often wax nostalgic. Maybe you noticed this in Monday’s post. I suppose it’s because my childhood and where I grew up are the inspiration for my stories. I’m drawn to those comfy places and I long to recreate them. When we’re children, I don’t know that we can fully appreciate our roots. In …
One of the reasons I enjoy reruns of The Waltons is because in some ways it takes me back to yesterday. Life seemed simpler then and things moved at a slower pace. I miss those times. Family took center stage, most everyone we knew went to church, and parents didn’t fear for their children’s safety if they went to visit a friend down the …
