Attractions are always hampered by baggage, the hurts buried deep in our souls that rise up when life gets bumpy. Insecurities raise their ugly heads, and if people don’t mentally stop such thoughts, they spiral out of control and lead us where we don’t want to go. As it affects us in real life, so…
I loved Wings of the Wind, the third novel in Connilyn Cossette’s Out of Egypt series, published by Bethany House. I enjoyed the first two in the series, as well, but the main characters Alanah and Tobiah captured my heart in a different way. I loved watching this couple transform from enemies to intimate friends.…
“One summer day two feisty young boys decided to play a prank on their sleeping grandfather. They crept into his bedroom and smeared Limburger cheese on his moustache. A short while later he awoke declaring, ‘This room smells!’ He went into the kitchen where Grandma was baking chocolate chip cookies. But he couldn’t smell the…
It’s the new school year; and while fresh school supplies and new shoes and clothes come to mind, so do all the teachers who influence our children. Their marks—good and bad—are imprinted on our souls. Not finding my glue or fearing being left behind brought me to tears too often in first grade to get…
I am the person hurt most when I do not say no. Do you know the feeling when someone asks you to do something and your mind starts racing because you know your schedule is already full, but you don’t want to hurt the person who seems so needy? The pressure is on because you…
I have a problem about sticking to schedules. It is not that I don’t stick to schedules. It is that I don’t like my schedules messed up. Maybe I am too much of a stickler to sticking to the schedule! Changed schedules throw me into an unbalanced, loss of control feeling. (Go ahead and laugh.…
For five weeks this summer, I participated in a Proverbs 31 Online Bible Study course about Jennifer Rothschild’s book Me, Myself, and Lies. It was my first time ever joining an online Bible study so I worried if I would keep up. It was great, and I managed to keep up just fine. While they…
Area sustainable farmers met with a representative of the United Nations at the Riemer Family Farm in Brodhead, Monday, July 24, to discuss the difficulties faced by small farms and to voice concerns and make recommendations for improving policies to help those competing with larger agricultural businesses. Because the United States farmer is a role…
I warm up to technology at a slow pace, or maybe I am just cautious. I love my computers and my Fitbit. That’s my technology. Enter new technology, and I am nervous. Do you relate? Now, other family members love their Kindle, Smartphones, tablets, and various games, but I just like the good old predictable…
Haste makes waste. How that little saying came true recently was a hard pill to swallow. I got something on my shorts shortly after starting the last load of laundry. I wanted to get those shorts into the laundry pronto so I raced through changing and plunged my shorts deep into the sudsy washer machine.…