Often in life, plans have to change, and though change can be uncomfortable, it is almost always necessary. That is the case for us. The problem with the heat could not be resolved, and the wonderful woman we are renting from agreed to let us cancel our agreement to stay for two months. We will... Continue Reading →
The sun poured its beams upon our basking bodies. Suddenly the grating voice of our dad erupted into our heat slumbering brains, “you better put on the foul weather gear.” We erupted into frothy talk, “He doesn’t know what he is talking about.” “It is so nice, how could it get wet.” We should have... Continue Reading →
We all need a safe space, a place of refuge from the difficulties and challenges of life. It is important to choose a safe space that has the power to strengthen and keep us in times of trouble and upheaval in our lives. In the psalm for this week, Psalm 46, one of the descendants... Continue Reading →
We took our faithful, neglected, Ping Pong table and painted the white lines in phosphorescent paint. Then we did the same for the net, the balls, and the paddles. Now we were ready for Halloween. Every Halloween, the staid Doctors and their proper wives came to our house for our Halloween party. We tried to... Continue Reading →
Some years ago, I went backpacking with friends, one Jewish and the other Agnostic. One day, high in the Canadian Rockies, we decided to visit a glacier. The trail only took us part way. The rest of the way, we meandered cross country. Part way there, we spied a moose and approached as close as... Continue Reading →
It is Sunday here in beautiful Portimao, Portugal, and Douglas and I have found a church to attend! It is the International Christian Fellowship Church, and it is about a 4-minute ride by car to services. We arrived and were greeted by some wonderful people, all speaking English, for the most part, British English. As... Continue Reading →
When my children were very young, they tried to learn humor. My oldest, Heather, started on the Knock Knock joke where the answer was orange several times until the final one where they said, “banana” and when you said, “banana who,” they responded, “Orange you glad I didn’t say banana again?” The third child, Brandon,... Continue Reading →
It is hard to really understand the lives of other people, unless you can walk in their shoes. For years, the lives of immigrants to America have not really interested me, mainly because I assumed that moving to an unfamiliar place is no big deal, with basically every place the same. I never thought about... Continue Reading →
I perched at the rim, soaking up the magnificent vistas that seemed to march into infinity. There were vertical cliffs interspersed with sloping plateaus. Colors of red, orange, and yellow splashed across the rocky scenery, confusing the mind. Well, it was going to be a long haul to hike from the South Rim down the... Continue Reading →
