Do you remember the Facebook challenge where one woman would nominate another to post a photo of herself devoid of makeup and hairstyling? The purpose of this exercise, if I understand it, was to celebrate the natural beauty of all women and to recognize that what’s on the inside is what makes a woman truly…
November has arrived, and here in Massachusetts, that means the air is getting colder, the nights longer, and the pace of life somehow even faster. As the days grow shorter, it feels like they’re slipping through our fingers. Once Halloween is behind us, it’s a whirlwind—go, go, go—straight through to New Year’s. For me, with…
Do you have a favorite season? It’s hard to choose, isn’t it? Beginning with the first bud on a crocus— Nature’s inciting event—she announces the arrival of Spring and builds her narrative like a well-written plot. The daffodils join the story, popping their yellow heads and beckoning the tulips to follow. The camellia blooms explode…
“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (MSG) As summer shadows stretch long and lean, we feel the anticipation of September with its…
For as the soil makes the sprout Come up and a garden causes fruits To grow, so the Sovereign Lord Will make righteousness and praise Spring up before the nations. Isaiah 61:11 Our garden flourishes with succulent tomatoes, a plethora of cucumbers and blue-red hollyhocks aiming skyward. I cannot keep up with the herb drying…
Whether in a French cathedral, an English castle, or a church in our home city, when light passes through a stained-glass window into a room, it brightens every space with a glorious glow. There’s beauty in the broken shards when intricate stories are crafted into a masterpiece. It reminds us of the way God can shine His Light—even through the mosaic of our monstrous messes.
It’s safe to say that whatever else is going on today, it will certainly be eclipsed by the eclipse!
Have you ever had a much anticipated event get swept aside for something else that took precedent? What do we do when life interrupts our best-laid plans and we have no plan B?
In Michigan this year, it’s forgotten how to winter. So on yet another unseasonably warm day I spent some time cleaning up the yard. Flowers don’t have buds yet and the grass is still half yellow, but guess what is flourishing in all it’s glory? A WEED! Of course. Aren’t they a beautiful joy? Looking…
January 16th marked the ten-year anniversary of losing my son Josh, my middle child, three weeks before his 24th birthday. He would have been 34 this year in February. How do I cope with the loss? I focus on the blessings the Lord has given me that I still have: my other son, my daughter,…
A Letter from the Palace [Terrie Todd]
I won’t forget the day I received a letter from Buckingham Palace. In 2018, Queen Elizabeth II (QE2) was still alive and well in the sixty-sixth year of her seventy-year reign. My friend Lucy suggested I send Her Majesty a copy of my third novel, Bleak Landing. The book includes a scene from 1939 when…
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