Thanksgiving, Toddler Style

Whoever said that children are never grateful?
My just-turned-two year old always wants to pray after everyone else at dinner. Usually she repeats what has just been said, a litany of thanks for everyone around the table. “Dear God, Tank oo Jesus, tank oo bubba, tank oo mama, tank oo dada…” But tonight, she gave us [...]

In our weakness…

…His strength is made perfect. How I know this now. And I also know how painful it is to be weak and let His strength be perfect.
I was reminded of this as I was visiting Owlhaven’s site and ran across this plea to pray for Lucas, a fellow blogger’s little boy who was [...]

‘Meat’ for your Good Friday

I hope you read this in it’s entirety. It is a beautiful thing to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
This comes from St. John Chrysostom’s catechumenate (new believer) instruction. St. John Chrysostom was born in 347 A.D. Thanks to the Rev. David Chalk for editing this quote unto 21st. century [...]

Getting What We Want

I have been haunted by a theme that runs through the Chronicle of Narnia series: that in the end we get what we want. Over and over through the series the characters are confronted with the end result of what they desire.
The self-centered and gutless uncle in The Magician’s Nephew got what he wanted…himself. [...]

Good, but Violent

For those of you who know my second daughter, our 5 y/o thirdborn, you’ll know that she is the “quiet” one of the family. She is mostly content to listen and observe. Like most people who share that trait, when she does choose to talk, it is usually a zinger. Something that [...]

More than You Ever Wanted to Know about Vultures

Amazing how you find yourself doing things for your kids you never thought you’d do.
Yesterday, I found myself throwing my laundry basket over a stunned turkey vulture in our yard. Yep. Commonly known as a buzzard. Bald, red head. Big.
I also found myself becoming genuinely concerned for the little guy (or gal) [...]

Happy St. Valentine’s Day

“Our Hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” St. Augustine

 
For God so loVed the world
that he gAve his
onLy
begottEn
SoN,
thaT whosoever
believes In Him
shall Not perish
but have Everlasting life.
-John 3:16

Hiding Tears

I wonder what it is that makes a boy begin to want to hide his tears. What changed from last year when he cried unselfconsciously like any other small child, to now, when he doesn’t want anyone to know, save maybe his mom, that he’s been crying? It’s just one more sign that [...]

Irene

My grandmother, Irene, passed away the last week of December and since then, my mind has been filled with memories of her. Actually, I wouldn’t say filled. The memories have come back more like a dripping faucet. One at a time, but steady.
She was the prototypical unsung hero, a hardworking mother of [...]

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Believe it or not, it is snowing in this little border town! My neighbor said it was twenty years ago that it had last snowed. We are actually getting more snow than some areas northwest of us.
So, for school today, we got to have a field trip to the north in our very [...]