Visions in scary places

I actually consider myself to be a painfully left brained person. I write, I draw, I paint, but I do it very realistically. I have not been able to break free of drawing from a photo or real life, and most of the writing I have done in my life has been logical, persuasive writing....

What I Am NOT Looking For

Spring has sprung here in Iowa. They say it's nice to live in a place with four seasons, and here you can have all four of them in a couple of weeks. We actually had an early spring, and beautiful little flowers started growing in our yard. They were like hope. But then the snow...

Love in the time of Coronavirus

I have been trying to write a blog entry for awhile now, but it has been really hard. These are some crazy times we live in. Not just crazy, actually. They are downright unbelievable. I sometimes do something else, watch a TV series or whatever, and get caught up in it, and then I come back to...

The water tower

We have made it to our new home in Iowa, and I really love it! I am not happy, because the truck with all our belongings is "weather delayed." Or at least that is what it said yesterday. Today it says to call them. Praying for the best, and for the truck to get here...

Goodbye house

Goodbye, house. You have been a part of my life for many decades, and you are filled to overflowing with memories. Many sweet memories, but also many sad memories, bittersweet memories, and other memories that are just bitter. You have held my fears, my sorrow. You have comforted me through a battle against cancer, and...

Happy Birthday, Michaela

I woke up a little before 6:00 this morning. Life has been busy and crazy lately, because we are moving next week, and it has kept me blessedly distracted. But my first thought this morning was of you, and of that day so many years ago when I first held you in my arms. I've...

31 years without Michaela

Tomorrow is the 31st anniversary of Michaela's kidnapping. What kind of a person is still here pounding the keyboard about a child who has been missing for 31 years? A mother to whom that child was an answer to prayer after five years of infertility. A mother who knows that child glowed with love and...

Survival stories

California is burning. Again. Has California burned every year, without me being aware of it? Because for the past few years it has become a thing, a devastating thing for those who experience it. For the rest of us, for me, it has become a twist in the gut, a reminder that life is uncertain,...

What if God's purposes are bigger than your answered prayers?

The title of this blog was taken from a Facebook status posted by the associate pastor of our church. He and his wife are currently experiencing a heartbreaking situation, as she is pregnant with a baby who is not expected to survive more than a few hours after birth. What is in their minds and...

Breast Cancer Journey: Stuff Gets Real

I had a second surgery this past week. Some of the skin they left after my mastectomy had died and had to be removed. After the surgery was over I posted on Facebook, "I had a great time." The sad thing is, that was true. It says something about your life when surgery is the highlight...