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…
It depends – the means to the ends
I am a person who loves her independence. I value the traits of standing on my own two feet, my own merits and my individuality. It is a sense of freedom and self-reliance that feeds me. But God made me for something more. This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the one who trusts…
Silver and Gold
Make new friends but keep the old One is silver and the other Gold. The circle is round it never ends That’s how long I want to be your friend. Every person should have friends – we were made for community. I am beyond blessed by the company God has given me, the relationships, the…
Heroes
There are heroes in the world. Some are disguised as regular people. I know some – actually I know more than my fair share. They may not be the superhero kind who wear capes and have otherworldly superpowers but they are the real deal. One of my superheroes, at 87 years old, went to Africa…