Heart Language
Recently I went to a men’s ministry breakfast that was honoring a friend who was “retiring” from ministry. Like other faithful servants who have a call to full-time ministry, he is not really retiring. Instead, he is just letting go of full-time employment. The people I most admire don’t really retire; they walk faithfully and…
My Coda
In music a coda is the satisfying elaboration at the end of a piece of music that offers a sense of resolution. If I got the chance to have a final word, I am not sure I would have the wherewithal to come up with all the right words in the moment. But I am…
Remembered and Celebrated
I am not one who typically dwells on the past nostalgically. I have never gone to one of my high school reunions and I do not make scrapbooks. While I love sharing memories and looking at pictures, I choose not to live life looking in the rearview mirror often. I am not saying that nostalgia…
My friend Everitt
A few days before I heard about Carmen’s passing, I heard from my dear Susan that her father, Everitt Shepherd, had gone home to be with Jesus. So many people I know are heading to the party that will never end. It makes me a little homesick for a place I have never been yet!…
My Friend Carmen
We landed in Chicago a few hours ago and when I turned on my phone I was greeted with the news that Carmen Elaine Trust went home to be with Jesus and Bob as she joined the great cloud of witnesses. I will miss the funeral as we are on the beginning of a family…
Pops Concert 2025
In the fall of 1977, when I started as a freshman at Biola, my dad told Mr. Lutke that I played clarinet. Mr. Lutke persistently called me until I would give him an audition and a promise to give the band a try. If I had not joined, I would never have met Jim nor…
Answered prayers of a Contented mom
It is so curious that I did not want to be a parent but it became the single most value of my whole life. It is, by far, the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life apart from letting go of my mate. I was so afraid of it and I did…
HBD Dianne Brouwer
While many people have left their fingerprints on my life, there are a few people who have actually altered my DNA. Dianne Brouwer, you are one of those people and I am a different person because you have been in my life! From the beginning of our time in Scottsdale, I watched with admiration how…
There is a time for everything!
Today on my calendar is the birthday of my friend Lorraine who I have not seen in a “long” time. I imagine that if we got together, we would pick back up in the middle of a conversation like no time had passed and we would not stop talking until we fell asleep mid-sentence. I…
Corn Salad and Potlucks
I was asked to share about a salad that I made one time for a Staff women’s lunch years ago. Little did I know it would be such a hit! It was an old potluck recipe that I was given by a close friend and as I rifled through my recipe box I could have…