Mar
25
2025

Singing Off Key

Posted in Worship | 2 Comments

I settled myself down to get ready for worship.
I knew that within minutes, the singing would begin.
For the next thirty minutes, songs would be sung that would point my heart towards Jesus.
I am grateful to the ones who play their instruments and use their voices to lead us in worship.

There are some who raise their hands as they sing.
There are some who sway just a bit along to the music.
There have even been times when I have seen worship songs signed for those who are deaf.
There are some who never sing at all.

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Mar
18
2025

The Thing About Age

St. Patrick’s Day is my husband’s birthday.
After realizing his last name is Gallagher, the inevitable question is asked.
Why isn’t your name, Patrick?
The answer, that he has given so many times, is given once again.

Because my brother is named Patrick! He says with the same inflection.
My husband is the fifth of eight children.
The brother born before him was named, Patrick.
Had his mother known she would have a son on St. Patrick’s Day…

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Mar
11
2025

Changing The Clocks

Posted in Faith | Leave a comment

I was at a conference this past weekend.
It was so nice to get away.
It was so refreshing to be around others who love art, music, and literature.
I was in my element, as the saying goes.

It was in my favorite place with Amish buggies.
I was in the city, with its Central Market, art galleries, and bookstores.
I parked my car in the hotel parking garage and walked wherever I needed to go.
I people-watched outside and fed my soul inside.

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Mar
4
2025

God’s Light Bulb

My husband has an engineer brain.
Anyone who knows an engineer, or is married to one, knows that is a true statement.
They have a different way of thinking.
They are trained to problem solve and that is what they do.

One often hears about left brain vs. right brain.
Left brain is: logic and reasoning, mathematics, and sequential thinking.
Right brain is: creativity and imagination, spatial awareness, and artistic abilities.
It is thought that people are either/or but in reality both sides work together in a complex brain.

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Feb
25
2025

Lessons From A Snowstorm

Posted in Faith | Leave a comment

My husband just returned home from the Dominican Republic.
He had been there for sixteen days.
He takes a trip like this each year to build homes for people.
He has been all over the world.

He was on a team of fourteen people, eight of whom he had built with before.
Many are retired, like him, and enjoy giving of their time and energy to help others.
The block house was completed in a weeks time.
To the family, their new home was palatial, compared to where they were living before.

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Feb
18
2025

Out For Breakfast

Posted in Prayer | 2 Comments

I went to breakfast with a friend this morning.
How wonderful to have time, uninterrupted time, to sit and talk.
We ordered our omelettes and sat for two hours and caught up.
There are so many things to say to this friend, my prayer partner of many years.

We saw people we knew in the restaurant.
They tucked us in a booth in the back, which was perfect for conversation.
This restaurant, known for its breakfast and lunch, was filled with people.
It was a windy day and it seemed that everyone came in to get warm from the cold.

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Feb
11
2025

Unsolicited

Posted in Prayer | Leave a comment

Two of my granddaughters arrived at the back door.
They ran from the driveway to the kitchen door as fast as their little legs could carry them.
I imagined them jumping down from the mini van as soon as the car door opened.
I heard their footsteps as they came down the walkway.

Then I hear the knock, rhythmic and predictable.
I opened the door with genuine joy and open arms.
They came bounding in with hugs all around.
The little one said, I’m at Grandma’s house, with such joy on her face.

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Feb
4
2025

The Side Of The Bed

There is a place, a holy place that we tend to overlook.
Holy places are often quite ordinary.
Holy places are usually found among the common.
Something is holy simply because God sets it apart.

It was during my own prayer time that I thought about this holy place.
It was as I was praying for each of my children that it came to mind.
It was a place where I sat each night.
It was a place I never really considered holy until it was no longer a part of my daily routine.

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Jan
28
2025

Gems In Her Pocket

Posted in Salvation | 2 Comments

Our son, daughter-in-love, and two of our granddaughters were here with us for two weeks. They were having some work done on their house, while they were here. As my daughter-in-love said, We make good roommates. We do! It is one thing to love your children, their spouses, and your grandchildren. It is another thing […]

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Jan
21
2025

Conversation In A Bathroom

I heard them talking.
We were all in the public bathroom at the store with the bulls eye on the front.
I knew that the young mother was hoping to use the large handicap stall, but it was occupied.
Those larger stalls are such a blessing to mothers with small children.

I could hear the mother and her young child talking as I was at the sink.
I climb under there, Mommy!
No, don’t climb under there! The mother said with exasperation.
Why?

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