New Mercies and Coffee

Lately I have been enjoying a mixture of spices, coconut milk and maple syrup in my coffee. I have noted that my pain levels seem to be reduced after my morning mug. This comes as no surprise since my mom used coffee for pain relief for many years, having an Read more

Hügelkultur and Humility…

Yes, again… So, I finished the hügelkultur pit; the brush pile has been reduced to a flat patch of ground covered with twigs and grass. Not a thing of beauty by any means, but at least unobtrusive and less obnoxious. It no longer looks out of control or dangerous. I Read more

Humility and Hugelkultur

Hugelkultur. It’s a fun word to say even if I don’t really know how to pronounce it! There’s supposed to be an umlaut somewhere in that word. I am attempting my first hugelkultur pit or mound. For several years, one of my garden beds has been a brush pile…Yup, a Read more

Not Neat and Tidy

Not neat and tidy. Nope. This following-Jesus stuff is messy! Questions come up that don’t have any neat solutions. Or even straight-forward ones. Conflicts arise for which there is no resolution. Depression hits and won’t let up. Disease and death still affect and afflict us, cheating and robbing us of Read more

Through the Wringer

My dad had a poster near his desk with a Raggedy Ann doll bring squeezed through a wringer. (If you know who and what I am talking about feel free to skip the next paragraph! If you don’t know, the internet will tell you more than you ever wanted to Read more

Whatever You Do

Today’s to-to list is enormous and overwhelming… like normal. This morning’s verse from a dear friend was this: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily as to the Lord, and not to men…”  – Colossians 3:23 I can hear my children’s groans (along with the strains of a march-like tune Read more

Who are the real heroes?

Phil Wickham’s Hymn of Heaven contains the line, “stand beside the heroes of the faith.” Usually that makes me think of the list of notables in Hebrews 11, those who paved the way of faith for us by being utterly everyday humans who were granted unique opportunity to hold on Read more

What to do with Stones

Sometimes my thoughts are like a skittish school of herring, flashing this way and that at the least provocation. I found myself asking God to settle them, or herd them into His net. Is it on the right side of the boat or the left? It isn’t always that He gives Read more