[Susan Kimmel Wright] Little House Under the Christmas Tree

Does Christmas make you nostalgic? If so, you’re far from alone. This time of year, many of us long, almost painfully, for the traditions we grew up with. My husband and I got married days before Christmas. It came as a rude surprise to discover he expected a star atop the tree, and my family

[Patricia Lee] Searching for Thankfulness

As the year 2020 nears its end, many of us sigh in relief. The past several months have been filled with one crisis after another, from COVID-19, to congressional antics, to claims of election fraud. We, as a nation, are anxious for the curtain to fall on this chapter of our history. Lock the door.

[Susan Kimmel Wright] A Special Autumn Recipe

“There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood…” Every week my fourth-grade teacher passed out our poetry sheets, printed in fragrant purple, from the mimeograph machine. Though I disliked memorization, many of the poems, like this one—”A Vagabond Song” by Bliss Carman—have stuck with me for years. I particularly loved the

[Melanie Campbell] Wildfires and Clouded Vision

A few weeks ago, my town was blanketed with thick smoke and covered with ash. Wildfires were dangerously close and people in nearby areas had to be evacuated from their homes. There were reports of arsonists setting other fires. It was chaos, doom and gloom. In other words, another page in the nail-biting saga of

[Susan Kimmel Wright] Who Has Despised the Day of Small Things?

How to deal with the perpetual uncertainty of 2020? We know how it’s been dealing with us—economic upheaval and a deadly virus like the devil in 1 Peter 5:8, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” This is all compounded by the daily indignities of quarantine, masking, and social distancing, lest

[Heather FitzGerald] COVID Cannot Quarantine My Memories!

A year ago this month, my husband and I were able to take a dream vacation to the Emerald Isle. Since travel anywhere right now is a pain in the mask, I thought it would be fun to revisit this exceptionally beautiful place via a blog post or two (will continue the tour next month!).

[Susan Kimmel Wright] Our American Journey

July 4, 1986, we observed Independence Day at the U. S. Ambassador’s residence outside Tegucigalpa, Honduras with our two-year-old son Tony and newborn Francisca. We didn’t know a third adopted child would be joining our lives the next morning…but that is a story for another time.   The Ambassador had opened the grounds to any