Goliath and the Chirping Bird

I was shocked! I was actually scared! I began to back away and the bird continued to come after me. He jumped from the ledge to the floor, and was determined to protect himself from this giant obstacle — me. I made quick, backward circles around a table trying to avoid the horrible “pecking” I was about to receive. Read more

Trust Me (Wink)

“Let me get this straight. You want me to stand up on this table, fall backward, and trust six or so giggling teenagers to catch me? And you’re telling me this illustrates our trust in God?”

The teen Sunday School class had gone on the prowl for some unsuspecting vict—I mean, participant. I was on my way to the choir room. I searched my brain for any excuse: my high school gymnastics coach once dropped me, though she’d been trained to catch people; my fear of heights made me hesitate to wear high heels; Mom taught me never to put my feet on a table. Read more

The Latest Styles

I’ve been shopping recently. Roaming the aisles of all my favorite stores I realized that I might be crossing over into the you’re-too-old-for-that era of my life. True, I love many of the cute fashions that are in style today, but really at my age (not that old), with two kids, stretch marks and a few not so subtle pounds too many, I just don’t see how I could pull off some of those outfits.

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No That’s Good

One of my favorite children’s books—a fun read for both parents and kids—is That’s Good, That’s Bad by Margery Cuyler.

The normal response to the things happening to the little boy main character is “Oh, that’s good!” A trip to the zoo. A red balloon. A timely happenstance. But the narrator explains at every point, “No, that’s bad!” Disaster follows on the heels of what seem like smile-worthy provisions.

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Busy As Ants

“As boring as watching ants,” the saying goes. I believe the person who created this saying has never watched ants. Have you? They are fascinating.

I was weeding the other day and came across an ant bed. As I paused to watch them I was struck by how busy they were, each one doing their own thing, not caring what the other ants were up to. They seemed to be driven by a natural instinct to forge ahead no matter what obstacles were laid before them. To test this theory, I created a large log barrier in their path, and without missing a step they discovered ways around the obstacle. They continued in their pursuit of food and other things, which they dutifully carried into their home. God wants us to be more like ants, dutifully carrying out our jobs in spite of the obstacles that may come our way.

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