Honoring the journey—then and now
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"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
But did Christmas leave? I imagine God enjoys a good belly laugh. Over the past three weeks, I spent sixteen fabulous days on a cruise to Hawaii. Five days in port left eleven sea days to and from LA, more than we’ve ever had. That was a major attraction for my husband, but more of…
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Forgiveness
Why are you pounding at my door again? I answered once, accepted your offer, and sent you away, satisfied that you wouldn’t return. But here you are again. This time pounding at my heart louder, more insistent. I don’t want to answer. I’ve hidden from your face too long. Go away! Leave me with my…
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‘Tis the season for silence
Suffering from too much noise these days? Hip hop and rap versions of Christmas standards deafening you in all the department stores? Children incessantly whining and driving you nuts for this year’s must-have, the Tikduck Flying Orb Ball? Or lists of baking and shopping and decorating tasks rattling inside your head? Maybe we need a…
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The value of feeling stupid
I’ve spent a fair amount of my life trying not to look stupid. Abe Lincoln’’s sage advice to keep one’s mouth shut to keep people wondering, rather than opening it to confirm being a fool has not been lost on me. Luckily, as an introvert, I can often let others do the talking– unless an…
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Knowing
Heavy, heavy heart shoving me downward, pushing me into cold darkness, alone. I am trapped, confined, pinned under a weight I can never lift. The bitter knowledge engulfs, seeps into my broken spirit, forces surrender. My eyes spill their tears, my lips both quiver. I cannot stop. I grieve for your loss … and for…
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Bring back “The Benton Bugle!”
My husband bemoans the lack of local newspaper reporting. There are still a couple of reporters, but our print news now comes mostly from the USA Today Network. As a former newspaper employee, going back to having a paper route when he was twelve, he despises reading the news online, even if it’s mostly the…
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What I didn’t learn at church camp
Dark clouds stormed across the lake that evening, as we sat in the camp mess hall staring at mashed potatoes and meatloaf. Our table, usually filled with noisy fourth and fifth graders wrapped in towels and damp bathing suits, was silent. Inside the safety of the third floor of the Quaker Haven lodge, a few campers…
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Out of the mouth of babes
I didn’t believe her. How could I? It was all so outlandish. Fish eyes! A tiny purse! And yet, she was such a precocious child, or so we were told, that I wondered. As new parents, we didn’t have other children for reference. Her first word was “Octi,” for the crocheted octopus she eventually carried…
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Fall Creek prayer
Oh, wind, I hear you rustle the reddening leaves outside the open doorway. Breathe your resurrection into my aching heart that pines for solace; your peace into my unsettled soul.
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Election Day eve
By Barbara Swander Miller I can’t sleep. I turn, wriggle, twist and sigh. Too much news coverage I suppose. Not that they’re reporting anything new, really. Why can’t I just ignore it all? The wind whooshes outside our bedroom window. I hear the maple swaying, imagine its wet leaves littering the ground and front walk,…
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