Category Archives: Family Notes

December 25, 2020 · 12:16 pm

Christmas Day musings 2020:

An exercise in stream of conscious writing

When I woke up at 4:30 this morning, I could not help but remember how many times as a kid that 4:30 did not seem so early for Christmas morning.  This time I did not run to the living room to see what Santa had brought.  This time I laid in vws and started thinking about a range of things.

Now it is six hours later, I have fixed a Christmas morning brunch, started sourdough bread, and am just generally relaxed.  Christmas no longer resembles the ones from my childhood.  Circumstances have forced Christmas to be refocused.

The Upper Room devotional reaffirmed this may be a natural transition in our lives as we age (at least I translated that from the narrative), but I had to remember this was written at least a year ago–before the pandemic.  Here is the final statement in this reflection:

“For a long time, Christmas was just an annual tradition with to-do lists and performances. This year, I experienced Christmas from another perspective as I let myself come as a person longing to see the Savior.”

In the midst of the pandemic, we have been called to change our patterns of behavior.  We are to stay away from our annual family gatherings–and some easily add up to over 20.  We wear masks wherever we go, even into the bank lobbies.  And we stay home.  

I cannot imagine how this year’s experience is going to transform our lives as we move forward, but it must.  We must all refocus our values; to put our faith in God first, our family next, and then we can begin developing our individual goals, passions, bucket lists, and so on.

Personally, I cannot seem to think ahead right now.  We have become fixated on the immediate situation of the pandemic with no defined end in sight.  Yes, we need to get vaccinated, but it is not yet readily available.  Instead, masks, social distancing, and washing hands become our norm–not bad but good habits, really.

Oddly, as I had to face a quarantine before Christmas, I could not help but compare it to an experience when I was in 6th grade.  I had the lead role in our elementary Christmas play, and I got German measles–my brother and myself.

Two weeks we were at home.  We had a hide-a-bed sofa in the front room.  Mom pulled it out and we stayed there most of the time.  There were some behaviors that had to change then too.

For instance, at that time the medical field thought we should not use our eyes much so the lights were dimmed, no TV watching (it was fairly new in our household and it was only on in the evenings–after supper), and no one could come around because it was so contagious.  We even had a doctor who made a house call and we lived 8 miles out of town.

For two weeks before Christmas, we were confined to the house on the farm.  Mom read us a book.  We ate meals on that hide-a-bed sofa, stayed in our pajamas, and waited for the measles to go away.  And they did.  The doctor gave us the ok on Christmas Eve to go out.

Dad took us shopping in town.  I can remember vividly going to Ben Franklin to Christmas shop.  I can’t remember what we got except for one thing–the Brach’s Christmas star chocolates from the bulk candy counter.  Odd that that stands out over any other shopping we did.

Yes, I had missed my star role in the Christmas play.  My brother and I had two weeks off school.  It was a very different Christmas, but we had the old-fashioned measles healed just in time for Christmas.

This year I got out of quarantine one week before Christmas Day.  We did not get to shop very much.  I did not get to bake like I usually do.  We did not have social gatherings.  We have not even gone to see Christmas lights.  Why I did not even put up the Christmas tree!

  • A year ago, I would never have expected our year to be transformed like it has been.  
  • A year ago, I would have never thought I would miss participating in our church’s Advent and Christmas Eve services.  
  • A year ago, I never dreamed getting COVID-19 would change my Christmas routines.
  • A year from now, I hope to have the vaccine.  
  • A year from now, I hope my values remain focused on the reason for the season–the birth of Jesus Christ who taught us how to love one another.

A year from now . . . well who can tell.  I just hope we can preserve some of the positives that can protect us from losing the focus on our values:  faith, family, and friends.

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December 20, 2020 · 7:58 pm

Blue Christmas thoughts

All the world seems excited to celebrate Christmas with family and friends, holiday traditions, and the excitement of Christmas, but for others the holiday season is a struggle. 

The reasons for feeling blue in the midst of all the holiday hype ranges from the loss of a spouse, family member, empty nest syndrome, health diagnosis, distance, loneliness and the list grows.

Churches have acknowledged that Advent and Christmas can be difficult and lead to depression, therefore, a Blue Christmas worship service has developed to help those struggling.  

According to the UMC Discipleship website, “There is a growing attentiveness to the needs of people who are blue at Christmas.  Increasing numbers of churches are creating sacred space for people living through dark times.  Such services are reflective, accepting where we really are, and holding out healing and hope.”

The Blue Christmas worship is typically offered on the Winter Solstice which is Monday, December 21, the shortest day of the year.  According to the world clock, our latitude indicates that there will be only about 9 hours and 28 minutes of daylight.

Admittedly I struggle, especially after the loss of my mother and a divorce all at once–and that was almost 30 years ago.  Still, I had young kids and we powered through the life changes and celebrated as if nothing had changed.  

Life hands us challenges consistently, and we muster through.  That does not mean we honestly feel happy, we just ride the current that pushes us forward.  How do we do it?  With our faith in God.

On Monday, stop and reflect on how your faith sustains you throughout the wide range of life challenges.  Take a few moments and consider not only how you manage, but those around you who struggle during the season. 

When churches provide a Blue Christmas service, the most common reference in the Bible is to the story of Job.  Remember how he maintained his faith despite all the challenges he endured.  His friends kept thinking that he must have been doing something, sinning, that was causing God to punish him.

Yet Job lived faithfully throughout every challenge thrown at him.  He was able to fend off the negative pressure from his friends.  He trusted God.  In the end, he was restored to the wealth and the success he had experienced before the challenges.  His life was a living testimony to his friends how faith in God carries us out of the darkness and into the light.

Christmas is filled with the symbolism of light and maybe that is why we love the candles and all the light displays inside and outside our homes during these short days.  Adam Hamilton speaks to the light of Christ in his book Incarnation:

“Darkness is most often (but not always) associated with evil, adversity, ignorance, despair, gloom, and even death.  Light, on the other hand, is usually associated in scripture with God, goodness, joy, knowledge, hope, and life.” (p. 124)

Hamilton goes on to explain two forms of darkness, which during these shortest days of the year, seem to lend towards the second form he refers to as existential or situational darkness “. . . associated with grief, sadness or despair, or the feelings of being lost or unloved.” (p.126)

As December 21 gives way to the 22nd and then Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, look to the light.  Know that God is the light and he pulls out of our darkness–even during a pandemic.

Hamilton defines Christmas as light: “Christmas is the celebration of light piercing our darkness, God’s light coming to us to enlighten our lives.” (p. 130)

The concept of the incarnation, God as human, is one of the most compelling arguments to celebrate Christmas.  God loves us so much that he walked along side of us as the man Jesus Christ.  He experienced all the life challenges we do, even the most horrific as he died on the cross so that we may believe in him and know that he is with us.

Hamilton challenges us to walk in God’s light and to share that light:

“Jesus is God’s Word to us.  In that Word, we see not only the love of God, but the light of God illuminating our moral and existential darkness.  Our task is to accept that light, to allow it to illuminate our lives, to walk in this light, and to then share this light with others.”  (p.136)

I chose light even on the shortest, darkest day of the year.  I know the challenges of darkness, but I look toward the light.  Maybe that is why the words of John speak to me:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  –John 1:1-5

Please join me in prayer, not only for yourself but for all those feeling blue during this Advent season.

Dear Lord, our father and our light, thank you for shining bright even in the darkest of days.  Guide us and enlighten our heaviness of spirit as we look to your glory and celebrate the birth of your son, Jesus Christ.  –Amen.

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December 5, 2020 · 8:41 am

Positive Twists COVID-19 Season

     The last seven months our comfortable American lifestyle has redefined itself.   The daily routines have shifted, schools are in crisis, economy erratic, families rattled–the list grows.

     Yet, there is an irony to the entire situation, and I pray that there are some dramatic shifts for the positive in our lifestyle that are and have been desperately needed.

     First and possibly most important, families are being forced to redefine their structure.  When the first mandates were put into place, schools closed.  Immediately, without any warning, families had to figure out how to manage the children at home.

     Certainly not every family unit had two parents working outside of the home, but many did.  Not every family had elementary kids who needed supervision at home.  But for many, the immediate decision had to be who was staying home.

     Then comes the next crisis:  how to teach all the students.  Maybe teaching elementary schools does not seem so daunting, but it is.  How one generation learned does not match the generation currently in school.  

     Add to that the teachers knew teaching as person-to-person.  In a weekend, the teachers had to transform into virtual teachers and nowhere in the college curriculum did education students learn about virtual teaching.

     Often in schools the technology teams were paid staff who installed, updated, and repaired all the district’s hardware.  Librarians were the other staff members who were often the more tech savvy in the district, but even now their job has been redefined by the need to substitute in a classroom or supervise lunch.  The library is not the first priority.

     As the months continue to roll along, families adapt and thankfully businesses do too.  A second positive developed–work at home became a viable option.  Productivity proved possible, and workers discovered that commute time became family time or productive work time.

     My brother’s work is a global company and there is some belief that the changes COVID has forced has rewritten many practices like travel, working meals, face-to-face sales calls, and even the office costs will be minimized.

     Speaking of commuting, consider the changes in driving.  Not only has commuting time and miles been dramatically reduced, COVID has lowered consumption of gas, oil, tires, and so on.  Not to mention the dramatic change in traveling for pleasure.

     That brings another major change to mind–the cost of entertainment.  Maybe the shift is really in priorities, which can be a positive considering how much emphasis and money has been spent on professional sports.

     In fact, COVID is forcing us to slow down and re-evalute our priorities.  Over the years, we have chosen to spend our money for making our lives comfortable, enjoyable, almost luxurious especially in relation to so many millions and millions of people.

     We have invested in entertainment with abandon.  We even choose to spend more money on sporting events than we tithe to the church.  We have chosen style over frugality.

     During this COVID season, I have discovered that I do not need to go shopping for clothes.  I do not need to take off for random weekend runs.  I do not need to the latest appliances.  I do not need . . . and the list continues to grow.

     What I have also learned is that I value my home much more.  I use the space more completely than I did before.  I take more pride in the yard and the small amount of vegetables I plant and harvest.  I look around and discover the fun I can have with what I do have.

     Oh, there are disappointments and losses that I can list, too.  But today, I want to see the positives that COVID has forced me to see.  I prefer looking at the good not the bad.  I see hope not despair.  I see God, not the evil.  I pray that others see the lessons we can learn and make changes that will improve the quality of our lives that will carry forward.

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August 22, 2019 · 7:59 pm

Praying the Psalms IV: Or at least I had hoped . . .

For two weeks I have failed to finish a blog posting and feel frustrated. Due to my husband’s truck wreck, I have found myself managing time differently.  And I have not been able to sit down in quiet and gather my thoughts.

Yet, I have worked hard to keep up with my daily Bible study and the psalms are still being read.  In fact today I read Psalms 111-113, and I find myself still thinking how these psalms fit into our lives yet today.

What I wanted to share these past two weeks is that the psalms speak to us even when we struggle over and over again.  Psalm 88 is a prime example of how we can talk to God when we feel at the very brink of sanity due to all the troubles we face:

Lord, you are the God who saves me;
    day and night I cry out to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

3 I am overwhelmed with troubles
    and my life draws near to death.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am like one without strength.
5 I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off from your care.

6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.
7 Your wrath lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d]
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9     my eyes are dim with grief.

I call to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands to you.


10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness in Destruction[e]?  
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help, Lord;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 Why, Lord, do you reject me
    and hide your face from me?

15 From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors and am in despair.


16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your terrors have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend. [NIV]

Read through this psalm and consider the times in your life when you were at a low spot—or a valley as in Psalm 23.  Look at verse 3.  How many times do we say that in our lives?  Yet, God never wears out on us.

I apologize for not writing the past two weeks.  I am managing the troubles in our household the best I can without losing focus.  I have not forgotten any of you and want you to know that I am keeping you in prayer. 

Please, too, keep my husband in prayer.  The healing process is lengthy for the type of injuries he incurred, but he survived the accident, which is a miracle.  In fact, whenever we have to review the accident with yet another specialist, they, too, are in awe that he survived as well as he has.  In these conversations, we are reminded that God rode right along with him during this accident and for that I read and pray the psalms of praise.

Please join me in a prayer taken from Psalms 23:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

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August 6, 2019 · 8:58 am

Praying the psalms III: . . . no such thing as a coincidence

Mom said, “There is no such thing as a coincidence, it is a Godincidence.”

Sadly today, I do not remember the exact circumstance when my mom told me this, but these words have echoed in my mind time and time again. These words have guided me in times that others would just toss off as a coincidence.

Just to make sure we are all on the same page (pardon the cliché), look at the definition of coincidence:

From Dictionary.com:  a striking occurrence of two or more events at 

one time apparently by mere chance

From Merriam-Wesbster.com:

the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

From Google search engine:

the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection

From urbandictionary.com

1.  Noteworthy event of having the exact change during small cash transactions.

2.  A compartmentalized serendipity formed by an underlying synchronicity. 

3.  Something that arises from two or more original ideas being related

I apologize.  I am fascinated by the variety of options available when googling a term or topic on line.  The Urban Dictionary, of course, popped up something surprising in the first definition, but the other two add different perceptions to the word coincidencethat may flavor this particular essay.

Here is what happened this week that has lead to this consideration of Godincidenceversus coincidence.  On the way to have my husband’s MRI after a serious dump truck accident, I grabbed a book to read:  Debbie Macomber’s If Not for You.

I first read one of Macomber’s books a few weeks ago and enjoyed it.  I knew she was known for knitting and writing, what I thought were romance novels, but then I discovered this year that she is a contributor for Guidepostswhich is my nightly quick devotional I have used for years.

I decided to give her a read and see if it offered me light, enjoyable, recreational reading.  Soon I was binge reading the book.  I could not stop reading it and I felt refreshed when it was finished.

Therefore, sitting and waiting, I opened up the second book.  In no time, I was hooked.  But more than that, I was hearing Mom’s words in my head—there is no such thing as a coincidence, it is a Godincidence.

Reading the prologue, something I learned while attending the Course of Study, I discovered that the book’s premise or setting begins almost immediately with a terrible accident.

Interesting.  Here I was sitting and waiting for a diagnostic procedure due to an accident. Even more so, the accident was eerily similar—except the one we were dealing with was a truck not a car accident.

So I read on.  Almost immediately I was binge reading again, and then I hit Chapter 6.  While the main female character is in the hospital, she asks the male character to pick up her Bible and read her something from Psalms.

To make the story shorter, he had no idea even where Psalms was in the Bible, but she directed him with the age old directions, “Open the book to the middle and you should be in Psalms.”  (p. 63)

And so begins Sam’s introduction to the Bible.  He lands on Psalms 5 which I am inserting from BibleGateway.com from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message:

Psalm 5: A David psalm

1-3 Listen, God! Please, pay attention!
Can you make sense of these ramblings,
my groans and cries?
    King-God, I need your help.
Every morning
    you’ll hear me at it again.
Every morning
    I lay out the pieces of my life
    on your altar
    and watch for fire to descend.

4-6 You don’t socialize with Wicked,
    or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you;
    you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
God destroys Lie-Speaker;
    Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

7-8 And here I am, your invited guest—
    it’s incredible!
I enter your house; here I am,
    prostrate in your inner sanctum,
Waiting for directions
    to get me safely through enemy lines.

9-10 Every word they speak is a land mine;
    their lungs breathe out poison gas.
Their throats are gaping graves,
    their tongues slick as mudslides.
Pile on the guilt, God!
    Let their so-called wisdom wreck them.
Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.

11-12 But you’ll welcome us with open arms
    when we run for cover to you.
Let the party last all night!
    Stand guard over our celebration.
You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers,
    for decking us out in delight.

                                                      —The Message

Beth, the main character, finds relief from her pain and falls asleep. Meanwhile, Sam starts exploring the Bible. 

Godincidence 1:  Psalm 5 had a descriptor which seemed to connect that particular psalm to the situation at hand:  Give heed to my words, O Lord, Consider my groaning.  Remember, she was in extreme pain.

How many times do we face a life challenge and have no idea where to turn? We may seek professional help as an accident forces us to do with the injuries that occur.  We may be struggling with a crisis at work and we look for specialists to help fix it.

Life is like that.  One challenge after another.  For those with a strong faith system, the tendency is to shrug our shoulders, attack the problem, and push through it.  We sometimes forget to include God through prayer.

“Praying the psalms” is again a technique that is often overlooked. Even Macomber included “praying the psalms” in her story and introduced Sam to the Bible while healing Beth lying in pain.

Godincidence 2:  Here my husband’s own confronted me groaning resulting from the accident and the book I picked spoke to me.  Was this not a message that I should be praying the psalms, too?

Life is filled with godincidencesand we often overlook them.  Is this not the Holy Spirit speaking to us?  

Please join in praying Psalm 5 with me (these are the NLT version of the first and last stanza)1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
    pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
    for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.

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June 4, 2019 · 8:57 am

An open apology to kids about knowing God, faith

I apologize.  

As I continue to study and to read the Bible, I realize I failed.  I failed to teach you faith.  I failed to practice the parenting principles that my own parents taught me.  I failed to share what I know to be my own life foundation.

I apologize.

As I grew up, both Mom and Dad lived a Christian lifestyle.  They modeled it by the very routines of our day and our week.  They never demanded that we participate, but then we would never have refused to follow their instructions.  It never even occurred to me that we should question the practices.

Therefore, why did I not follow those deeply entrenched practices on my own?  I did some, but some I did not.  Going to church each Sunday was a well-preserved practice and included attending Sunday school.

Because Dad always went with us each Sunday, I never thought that my own husband would miss church.  I thought that was just part of the agreement in a marriage.  When I first had to go to church alone, I ached. It was so wrong, yet I failed to make an issue of the change.  I just went—alone and alone with the kids.

I apologize.

Another practice that I failed in was maintaining the practice of the meal’s blessing.  We had three meals a day growing up and that meant three mealtime graces.  

I admit that the practice weakened during the college years because prayer is private and mealtime in the dorm’s cafeteria was far from private.  The meals’ grace disappeared.  Oh, I could have said the grace privately, but I don’t remember doing so.  And when I moved into an apartment, I could have resumed the practice then.  But I didn’t.

Then came marriage and meals were often in front of the TV.  No table grace then.  

And then came kids.  I should have known that I needed to add in the meal’s prayer, but I did not and did not even approach the subject with Dad.  I failed.

Then life changed with the divorce, and the opportunity to add in open prayer was there—but I hesitated.  It was not until the preschool grace developed and later remembered that the simple table grace resurfaced.  I failed to do so in a timely manner, but now it seems so important, so routine, and so simple.

I apologize.

Now the two practices of church attendance and table grace are just two small, concrete pieces to the Christian lifestyle that one can wear openly, but there is more about which I need to apologize.

Faith education is a critical failure.  I know that many argue that as children develop, they need to learn about God on their own, along their own timeline, in their own way or by their own experiences.  But how does that work?

Having been a teacher for 30 some years, I know that learning is developmental.  I know that all individuals can learn.  I know that we all learn differently.  I know that we learn by seeing, by hearing, and by doing.  

Yet, did I teach faith in my own home. No.  I realize now that I counted on the kids learning via other people’s teaching.  I delegated the task to others and did not take my own initiative to teach the very foundation of my own life.  I failed.

For some reason I thought that I was doing enough, and I was not.  I thought that since my kids lived in my home they would be able to figure out the importance of faith by osmosis.  

I did not figure in what would happen when outside influences or the divorce would create an entirely different learning environment than I felt I was maintaining.  I neglected my kids’ faith education.

I apologize.

How easy it would be to just ignore the issue, but I cannot stand seeing what life without God does to people.  I see so few who seem to have an internal fountain of joy shining from within them; and I know they are missing the joy I experience knowing God in my own life.

What I should have done is been verbally open about how God is part of the daily world in which I exist:

I should have spoken about how God created this universe and we are to care for it.  

I should have shown how all the different birds are part of God’s creation.  

I should have shown how farmers are key to feeding God’s people and for protecting this world that supplies all we need to grow crops and to nurture the livestock that feeds us.

I should have explained how important it is to treat each and every individual with love, just like we want to be treated.

I should have shown them that good leaders do care about their subordinates making any business or organization work smoothly.

I should have . . . and the list continues.

I apologize that I failed.

But, today, I want to put a stop to the failures and speak out—directly—to my kids.  God is good.  Whether you can ever fully understand the concept or not of an omniscient God, a creator, a spirit, a being, or whatever, I know that you must know what a difference God makes in my life.

More than anything I want you to experience the joy of this life experience that we are given.  I want you to demonstrate to all those you interact with that the power of loving one another is priceless.  I want you to share the love of life that you have because God loves you so much that he provides it.

And, I want you to know firsthand the value of studying the literature of the Bible.  We use words as a tool, and the Bible is filled with words to implement in your lives to manage all the ups and downs.  

As human beings, who do have the freedom to chose right and wrong, who do have the mental capabilities of analyzing history, science, social science, and experience, and who face all the challenges of living among believers and non-believers, we must learn all that we can about God.

Knowing God personally makes it possible to manage the evil forces that co-exist in our world. 

Knowing God personally makes it possible to live a joy-filled life even when we are confronted by a life challenge whether physical, mental, financial, or even a natural disaster.  

I apologize that I did not arm you with the knowledge of God that makes life good now and on into eternity.

I apologize that it has taken this many years to speak up.

I apologize that I did not teach you how to pray so you can always feel the reality of God with you, by you and for you.

Hear my prayer oh Lord, 

I am just a child of yours

     always learning of your vastness.

I am a child who has wasted time

     sharing what I value with my own.

I am a child who whines to you

     that my kids may not know you on their own.

Forgive me, Lord, 

     for my failures to teach my kids of You.

Forgive me, Lord,

     for wasting time in sharing faith out loud.

Forgive me, Lord, for whining

     rather than doing as much as I can.

Guide me to speak out loud 

     the truth of your love for us.

Guide me to live out loud

     my faith that so others may see.

Guide me to love my kids

     and all others as you commanded.

Thank you for the words of the faithful

     that share knowledge of faithful living.

Thank you for the open communication

     through our prayers.

Thank you for your guidance

     through the Holy Spirit within us.

May I be the parent unafraid 

     to love not only my kids but all your kids.

May all your children experience your great love

May they know the joy of loving you, 

         of loving life, and         

of loving one another.  –Amen

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March 14, 2019 · 1:12 pm

An Open Thank You Letter: International Dyslexia Assoc. (formerly Orton Dyslexia Society) C. Wilson Anderson, past IDA president Dr. Joan Stoner, Nebraska Dyslexia Assoc.

Almost thirty years ago, I drove to Des Moines, IA, and met national Orton Dyslexia Society board members for my first regional conference on dyslexia.  Last week my daughter made her first presentation on the subject of dyslexia—her personal journey and methods that work.

That January 1990, weekend conference began a journey that continues to affect my daily life. Although the initial purpose was to find out how best to meet the needs of dyslexic cadets at a military academy, I discovered the reality of living with dyslexia and parenting a dyslexic.

Today, many years later, I want to thank C. Wilson Anderson and Joan Stoner for all they did to train me in the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory methods of language development. I have used it continually, even after retiring from teaching in an alternative program.

Now, my daughter uses it continually, too.  Missouri has just acknowledged the necessity of screening for dyslexia, and the developing problem is how best to teach those students.  I fail to understand why it has to be so complicated.  

My daughter’s presentation told not only her story of early diagnosis and interventions even before kindergarten, built up to a testimony of what works.  She succeeded in school, earned a teaching degree in early childhood, and also finished a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.

Teaching dyslexics is exciting and challenging.  All students, whether identified or not, can benefit from the OG methods, especially when coupled with some of the educational theories such as differentiated learning, multiple intelligences, multi-sensory, and multi-layered curriculum. 

My own experience was enhanced by the work I did with the Orton Dyslexia Society, now International Dyslexia Associate, and the tutelage of C. Wilson Anderson and Joan Stoner—not to mention the many specialists who presented and joined in conversation at the national conferences. 

I may be retired from the classroom, but my passion for dyslexia is not.  Now I am fortunate to see my daughter drive forward doing all that she can for the students in her classroom whether they are identified or not.

Thank you for the guidance you provided, and know that it continues forward today.  

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November 2, 2018 · 9:15 am

Ever crave a recipe from Mom?

For the past few weeks, I have craved Mom’s pimento cheese spread.  I had looked for the pimentos and could not find them so I would give up.  Then walking down the aisle I saw something new–Velveeta with sharp cheddar flavor!

Now I knew I had to make pimento cheese because that was a new flavor and I thought it could really top the taste chart for my family.  So, I searched again–and I found the pimentos hiding down low in an entirely different location, but sadly a store brand.  Still I was determined to make Mom’s pimento cheese spread.

I pulled out my recipe:

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Sorry about the appearance, but this is a little spiral I keep of some very important recipes and I just can’t seem to give it up.  The vintage look of the page shows how much I return to these recipes over the years.

But, there it is.  Create a custard, add the cheese, melt it, and then add the pimentos.

Yes, I make some notes, and you can see that I learned the hard way about adding real cheddar cheese.  The flavor would be good, but it just does not work.  That is the reason why I was so excited to find the new flavor of Velvet.  I am going to have to add the 2018 note about it now.

Making pimento cheese always seemed like a major challenge, but not this time.  I pulled out the ingredients, turned on the stove, and in no time it was done.  And the flavor–wow!

And yes, I did add a few slices of American cheese to keep the spread a bit more stiff.  Still the spread works great on bread, toast, crackers, and celery (don’t try potato chips unless kettle cooked or wavy because it is too stiff for that to work).

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The final product is so yummy and I know Mom would be proud.

 

I keep thinking how good this will be added to some sandwiches, too.  In Atlanta, I found a sandwich that included pimento cheese and never thought about adding it to a classic sandwich.

Maybe it is the time of year, but just the process of making this family treat certainly picked up my spirits.  Typically I move into November filled with dread, but making this treat brought a little special joy into my November 1 day.

As we enter into these last two months of the year, family connections color our moods.  Stopping once in a while to capture memories can be a positive, yet I am reminded how many in our world do not have the warm-fuzzy memories like mine.

Maybe sharing this recipe with others is one way I can help build new memories for others.  This is not too difficult, but one major warning–you must stir while it is thickening because it scorches very easily.  It also spits terribly if you have it too hot and it boils.

This time I was amazed how quickly it started thickening and when it started to spit, I turned it down to a low setting while I added the chunks of cheese and kept stirring while it melted.

And believe me, the aroma when you add in the chopped pimentos just lift one’s spirits!  I should have made a bowl of tomato soup, too.  That would have topped off my kitchen time.

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August 20, 2018 · 8:36 am

Going home . . .

 

Over the weekend, we made a trip back to my hometown, Montgomery City, where the annual Old Threshers was the drawing card.

 

Old Threshers is a trip back to the past.  The old steam engines were on display working like they did when they first joined farmers in the hard work that had to be done—harvesting, cutting logs into boards, and more.

 

And that is not all.  The tractors of my childhood and even before all line up for everybody to review and remember.  I always look for the Oliver 66, which is the tractor Dad taught me to drive and the one I like the best.

 

There are other displays and activities, but there is something about seeing that Oliver 66 and the others from my past.  There is a magic that occurs when the steam whistles sound, the steam puffs up toward the clouds, and not to mention the smell of the freshly cut cedar planks.

 

But Old Threshers, this year, was special.  I visited with old church members, cousins, and neighbors. Recognition had to be awakened. Stories had to be shared.  But most important was sharing the past with the future.

 

For the first time, my grandchildren walked the fair grounds with me.  They saw the equipment for the first time.  They heard some of the stories of my parents and my childhood.  And I felt my heart soar.

 

And the day expanded as we returned to the farm.  I got to share the house with my daughter-in-law for the first time.  I watched the awe as she and her son/my grandson looked at Mom’s piano.  It continues to sit there waiting even though the keys are in bad shape and tuning has not been done in decades.

 

And the grands met their cousins!  Yes, the next generation met for the first time.  My kids with their cousins.  My grandkids with their cousins.  My brother, too, along with me and our cousins.  Wow!

 

I know, the experience was everything to me and not so everything for everybody else. But I am reminded that family is family. I am reminded that when we expand our family by joining in new families, home never really changes.

 

For years, I have thought about why I was so eager to leave home after college.  I have wondered why home always stays with you.  I went home regularly.  I really did not divorce myself from home.

 

But life divorced me from home.  Life circumstances can distance us from the very foundation of our lives. True, I became distanced from home; but I never became distanced from the foundations taught me at home.

 

My parents came from different faith backgrounds.  True they were both Protestants, Mom a Presbyterian and Dad a Methodist.  But when they married, the decision was to be a Methodist family.

 

My faith journey began with their faith journey.  And my faith home remained Methodist, even with a brief visit with a Presbyterian congregation.

 

When I returned home over the weekend, the first face I recognized was a member of that Montgomery City Methodist church.  How warming it was to feel that sense of recognition and to glory in that relationship.

 

The recognition reminded me that we are all of one family.  We may have different parents, different genetics, but the common ground of faith makes us so close to one another regardless of location or distance defined by years.

I find myself thinking about Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son:

  • How many times do we walk away from the foundations of our lives thinking we could do better?
  • How many times do we avoid going home?
  • How many times do we ignore what we are taught, esp. about God?
  • How many times does our life decisions risk poisoning our lives?
  • How many times do we think we cannot go home?

 

The parable shared in Luke , speaks to all of us at so many different levels.

 

As a parent, we do our best to raise our children so they know they are loved and will always be loved.  We know we have to discipline them at times.  We know we have to let them grow up.  We know we have to accept their decisions even if we disagree. Yet, we pray they succeed and that they come home; not permanently but emotionally.

 

As a child, we all know that as we grow up, we look forward to living as independently.  We grow up and move on.  Maybe like me, I never wanted to be labeled a teacher, marry a farmer, and stay in my childhood community.  But, I also never expected to face some of the challenges I did.

 

Thank goodness my parents laid the foundation for me life that included God and church.  I fled that farm life, but I never left the church.  My life challenges certainly knocked me down, but with my faith in God, I kept going.

 

The story of the Prodigal Son is as much a story of me leaving and returning as it is as a parent who watches children leave.  God provides unconditional love to all always.  It is us who must find our way home.

 

Going home is tough, true.  But going home warms the heart and the benefits are immeasurable.

 

Going home this weekend was a delight.  My family that remains in Montgomery were there.  My family who live outside of Montgomery, were there. My heart was warmed by all the memories, all the relationships, and all the promises of the future.

 

My prayer is that all of my family and friends from my childhood, from today, and from the future know that they are loved.  There is enough unconditional love from God to accept all the mistakes we make, but we may not know it until we stray away.

 

Thank you, God, for all the love and all the grace and all the forgiveness that you provide.  I hope I model it for others, too.  –Amen.

 

Luke 15:11-32:  Parable of the Lost Son

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

 

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

 

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

 

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’

 

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

 

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on.27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

 

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him,29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

 

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

 

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July 15, 2018 · 1:31 pm

Resting in confusion

Three weeks into a rest period, I find myself in confusion.  I am so used to operating on a schedule and knowing my goals, this pause in that life is very uncomfortable.

I am so fortunate to have family and friends–personal and professional, who know how confusing this time is for me and know that I want to race through rest to the next step.  This set of family and friends just keep telling me to rest.

This morning a second visit to Rev. Jim Downing’s church filled me again.  True it is a 30 mile drive, but going in and feeling comfortable among no one I know is evidence of how the Holy Spirit can make it feel like family.

For the past 10 years, I have organized my life around my work.  First I was a teacher, especially in an alternative setting; but then I added in part time pastoring.  The pressure to maintain all that I needed for both jobs just seemed natural.  Then I retired from the teaching profession.

Now retiring from one’s lifetime career is stressful enough.  I have now realized retirement really means being “really tired.”  I still had the church as a part time job, but I was used to full time work.  I probably used as much time now for the part time job, and worked hard to rest in the evenings.  Not easy

Speeding forward through the past three years, I am now trying to rest.  Not really retired, just working at resting.  And naturally, resting leads one to see all the daily household chores and postponed projects now have no reason to put off.  So, I am finding that rest can still be elusive.

In our Midwestern lifestyle, there seems to be a sense that one must work every day in order to achieve their goals.  I did not grow up knowing how to ‘play.’  Life on the family farm meant there were always chores.  We did stop on Sunday, though, and rest.  Even this concept is lost in our farming culture today–now farming is 24/7.

Rest.  I am learning that to rest, I have to give myself permission to rest.  I have to close off my ears to the internal yelling about all the work there is to do.  I also have to turn off the clock.  I have no reason to rush ahead, but my internal clock says I have such a limited time frame to use for rest even though I have NO time frame at all.

So here I am in week three of my rest, and I am confused.  Thank goodness my family and friends know me well enough to accept my confusion in this time of rest, but also know me well enough to reprimand me when I start tressing out over the timeframe.

One of my personal goals in this time of rest is to figure out how to listen to God.  I must quieten myself enough to recognize his voice.  This week I read a book by Adam Weber, Talking with God.   I started it and could not stop, finishing it in one day.  I separated myself so much from my typical day that I heard God.  I found energy.  I recognized Mom’s voice, too.

Thank you, Adam Weber, for such a clear discussion of talking with God.  I know what it is to be exhausted.  I know what it is to have unconditional love.  I know how hard it is to wait.  Your work spoke to me and speaks for me.  I know God speaks through your words, too.

One of the results of reading this is a driving desire to share this understanding from Adam Weber with others.  I wanted to buy a case of the books and start sending them off to others who I wanted them to know/experience this conversation.

Maybe this is what rest is.  Maybe I need to give myself permission to read–without a highlighter in my hand or note papers to record on.  Maybe I need to share what I read via the blog or Twitter.  This is all part of my process.  Rest in the moment also means being alert to how God can use me in those moments.

I may be assigned a period of rest, but my confusion still needs to be decluttered.  I guess I must remember that there is no timeline other than God’s.  Thank you to Rev. Downing, Rev. Weber, and my family and friends for helping me make my way to refreshment and renewal during this extended, uncertain time of rest.

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