Running on Empty?
Today is the day for emptying. I’ll give you the pretty and spare you the other. Let’s just say that the “prep process” has begun for my procedure early tomorrow—the one I’ve been avoiding for FIVE YEARS. Since we’ve blown through our insurance deductible for the year, we’re racing to the finish, scheduling as many […]
Some Thoughts on Thankfulness
No pretty photos today. No eye candy. Just some black and white reality, I do believe. There’s a Facebook trend I’ve seen lately. People are taking the challenge to spend time naming three things they are thankful for each day for five days. When they post their thanks, they nominate three other people, challenging them […]
Come to Bed with Us
My longest blog post EVER! It’s a serious start that gets hilarious. I think you’ll agree. Stick with me? Laughter is great soul food. Hard decisions. This med or that med? Lower meds or higher meds? A new diagnosis on top of all the others we’ve been living with for years has sent shock waves […]
Sure as Mother’s Day
Some things in life are sure things. Like Mother’s Day. I don’t know when the day was set aside to honor our mothers but I know it has been around ever since my mother labored with me for hours on August 2, 1959. At 5:40 P.M. at Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren, Ohio all 9 pounds […]
Closing and Opening
Some openings are sweet. Like this morning as I rub my eyes and open them slow to a new dawn with sun just about to sprout over that wide expanse of water I can see from my bedroom window. It’s just before 5 A.M. I scoot over to that man of mine, the one I […]
Blessing of Beauty
My dad’s and my relationship is an example of how, with God, all things are possible. We’ve had a rather rough and sometimes downright distant relationship through the decades for numerous reasons. But I’ve prayed and waited and done right in honoring him as my father. The years have softened us both and today, we […]
Plucked (How True Love Sets Us Free)
He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not. When I was a young girl, my friends and I went hunting for daisies in the field behind our house and when we found one, we plucked the petals till there was only one left, hoping to end on . . […]
True Self Love
He pulls the cinnamon raisin bagel from the toaster and does not spread butter or cream cheese. Just plain and warm. He stuffs his mouth and I watch his face contort as he chews, lips never meeting. Years ago I would have told him to close his mouth when eating, but the years have softened […]
Honeymoon Heaven
Twenty years ago today I married my husband, Todd Charles Johnson. What a wild ride we’ve been on ever since! Looking back at the beginning, I can’t help but laugh. So I thought I would write about our beginning and hopefully help you giggle, brightening your day. So after the ceremony on the sweltering […]
Steaming Real
Ever been steaming mad? I have. Ever been steaming mad at God? Me too! I’ve been so hot and steaming mad that I’ve screamed till my throat was raw. I’ve screamed inside my car. I’ve screamed while I’ve walked our 44 acres of trails. I’ve steamed, alright. And I’ve found that steaming screaming is purging. […]
Turtle Shells
Why do turtles go into their shells? Two reasons. They’re scared or they’re sleeping. Last spring, I was driving along the country road leading to our farm when I spotted a turtle in the middle of my lane. Not wanting to crush it, I pulled over, got out, and picked it up to move […]
Humility: The Trailhead on the Path to Life
How often do we come to quiet places in our days and contemplate who we are and how we live before our God Almighty? This desert place—this still place—where only gentle breeze and intermittent buzz of small insects is heard—this place has stripped me down to essentials. Who am I? And who is the I […]