Celebrating Firsts and All the Moments In Between [Kristen Hogrefe Parnell]

First bath. First smile. First laugh. As a new mom, I celebrate all my baby boy’s firsts. First Christmas? Time for a trip to Hobby Lobby to get him a stocking! But the truth is, firsts can be hard too. First boo-boo. First break-up. First accident. The challenge with firsts is that depending on our

[Jeanette-Marie Mirich] Collector of Memories

C.S. Lewis writes in his essay on Historicism, ‘pre-historic poetry has perished because words before writing are winged.’ The oral tradition of storytelling is in hibernation. Sitting on the porch watching the fireflies’ nightly dance creates time for reflection. Today, who has time to sit quietly and listen to the family lore dished up with

[Melanie Campbell] In God’s Timing

This picture…it’s an answered prayer. A little over a year ago I began writing One Way Home, the second book in my Whispers of Grace series. In the story, Sharon, a recovering alcoholic, lives with her only daughter and granddaughter. Part of the story line is about their relationship. The character of Sharon is inspired

[Susan Kimmel Wright] These Are the Times Set for Us

Maybe we rode a subway to work in the city or got up to feed the chickens. Coronavirus’s new restrictions and fears have changed our lives in a heartbeat. Hunkering down under a stay-at-home order, I can’t help thinking about a long-ago conversation with my grandma Blanche, who survived the Great Flu Epidemic of 1918.