Job. The biblical synonym for loss. Suffering. Anguish. And tears. Lots of tears. None of us wants to walk in Job’s footsteps. Because to tread in Job’s sandals means pain. Soul-searing, cloth-tearing, head-shaving, ash-rolling, heart-wrenching pain that accompanies the loss of everything … everything you hold dear. So I won’t say I’ve been following in Job’s footprints ...
Tribute to Fenway
What’s this, you say. Another tribute? What can I say, I reply. Another loss. Another tribute. Yes, this has indeed been a season of personal loss for our family. Layers and layers of loss. Maybe for yours too? If so, my BBFF (Blessed Blog Friend Forever), you have my deepest empathy. I send you my ...
Strangers Connect
I sat in Chick-Fil-a five days after my father unexpectedly died, trying to hold back unbidden tears while waiting on friends to arrive. I was early. They were late. I had commandeered a table next to the play area so we could watch the children playing, but instead of being uplifted by the shouts and ...
Daddy’s Girl
It’s true. I’m a daddy’s girl. Always have been. Always will be. My daddy’s name is Frank Mitchell. And he graduated to heaven on Christmas Day this year. His time on earth ended suddenly; only a week earlier he was laughing and singing Christmas carols with all of us who adored him, his beautiful clear ...
When It Just Ain’t Joyful
Here I sit a week before Christmas, exhausted, not a single Christmas card in the mail, the living room strewn with wrapping paper and bows, taped boxes containing gifts to whom I can’t remember (we ran out of gift tags and no time to run to the store), while a swarm of workmen bang away ...
Christmas Traditions
As I write this, I’m sitting here munching a handful of yummy Cheesie Krispies, my beloved Aunt Lala’s contribution to our family Christmases during my growing-up years. When Aunt Lala passed away a decade ago, it became my contribution, not only because I adore the crunchy, cheddar-y little darlings, but because I felt it important ...
Hearing That Still Small Voice
Last week at this time I was planning a presentation to a mom’s group in a warm-hearted town in Indiana, a “fur piece” (as we died-in-the-seersucker Southerners are known to say) from my home in central Florida. I had tweaked and edited and honed my message from my new book Too Blessed to be ...
Fish Out of Water
There I was, feeling a bit like a fish out of water – a Southern Baptist gringo at a Hispanic Catholic funeral. Everyone around me was kneeling at the appropriate times and responding in unison to the memorized litany (of which I was completely ignorant). I didn’t understand the order of service or what was ...
7 Days of Giving Thanks: Day 7
Happy Thanksgiving, blessed friends! One final double header on this 7th day of Giving Thanks on this beautiful day set aside for praising the Giver of All Good Gifts, and both lists are near and dear to my heart. One of the things I’m very thankful for this year is that I was blessed ...
7 Days of Giving Thanks: Day 6
On Day 6 of 7 Days of Giving Thanks this Thanksgiving, another double header … Cheryl B, a master gardener, is thankful for: Answered prayers Unanswered prayers Playful kittens Successful plant cuttings The automatic coffee brewer my husband sets for me every night My daughter’s sense of humor My son’s gift of music Jen G. ...