The tingling in her hands and feet crept in slowly, usually in the mornings. My dear friend, Kara, * didn’t feel as strong as she used to.  When these odd symptoms lingered she went to the doctor for answers. His countenance gave her little comfort as he reacted to her describing her symptoms. Also unsettling was the nurse’s request that her husband come next month “for emotional support” when discussing diagnosis and treatment. Once home, Kara noticed a diagnosis code on the MRI prescription — 340. A quick online search revealed what the doctor was testing for — Multiple Sclerosis. Read the rest of this entry »

Hope

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

Today I found myself needing a heaped-up helping of hope. The President our nation chose yesterday is politically inexperienced, said that he didn’t want his daughters “punished with a baby” if they “make a mistake,” does not uphold God’s pattern of marriage between one man and one woman, and published a book with the statement, “I will stand with them (the Muslims) should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.” Trying to obey God, I did pray for our new leader this morning. Soon after, I went searching scripture for hope. Let me share with you what God shared with me. Read the rest of this entry »

Make Me Something Daddy

“Make me something, Daddy,” the little girl said, expectantly holding out a tiny handful of Playdough. The child knew that the creative powers Daddy could bring to bear on that lifeless piece of clay dwarfed that of her own. Daddy’s repertoire of sculptures to create was infinite. Daddy’s hands could magically transform that pliable goop into a powerful lion or a beautiful ballerina while the child’s hands more often created a sticky mess.

“Give me a little more to work with,” said the father, eager to create something wonderful for his child. Read the rest of this entry »

Remote Control Prayer

A recent 4-day power outage caused my kids to break out every toy in the house that did not require electricity. One such relic, that had taken backseat to the Play Station for years, was a battery-powered remote control truck. My son was delighted anew with the absolute power of Read the rest of this entry »

Imaginary Battles

Heart racing. Hands glued to the controls. Intense concentration. Frustrated exclamations spouting forth intermittently. Read the rest of this entry »

Top 10 Spiritual Lies (& Truth that Shatters Them)

Last summer some robins nested in a tree outside our front door. It was fun to watch them flutter in, out and around the tree. Then one day, we heard thumping by the front door. Helpless, we stood inside looking up as a Read the rest of this entry »

Three Things

OK. I confess. I’m Type A. I have a To Do List – everyday. At the very core of my being there’s a little voice saying, “If you get through 75%-100% of your List, it’s a good day.” Conversely, if I accomplish 50% or less, the little voice gets up on its little soapbox and goes on a tirade, “You have been unproductive. You have insufficient checks on your List. What good are you if you can’t finish your list?” Frankly, the little voice used to really get me down if I didn’t check enough boxes — until I discovered something missing in my Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday – 9PM. A grave warning flashed up on my computer screen. “Primary EIDE drive is operating outside normal parameters. Back-up immediately. Replace hard drive.” My computer was crashing and so was my ability to accomplish the week’s To Do List. No more e-mail. No more progress on work or school projects. No more accomplishing anything that mattered.

Suddenly, I realized how dependent I’d become on the computer for numerous aspects of my life. In that moment I also discovered how dangerous it is to depend on the wrong thing or person when you’re trying to accomplish anything significant. Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe I’m the only person on the planet allergic to artificial Christmas trees, but our family goes every year to get a real tree. We’ve braved the winding back roads of North Carolina in a minivan, trekking up a windy snow-covered mountain for the perfect tree to cut. Now that we live in a Detroit suburb there’s a nursery lot full of pre-cut “perfect trees” (trucked in from North Carolina) just 2 miles from our house. Tree acquisition has been streamlined.

However, our excitement (especially that of the children) surrounding this event and all things Christmas remains undaunted. As we piled out of the tree-laden minivan, the children bounced up and down, mittened hands clapping with anticipation. They could hardly contain themselves waiting for Dad to untie the tree and bring it in for decorating. So they “organized” the Christmas decorations.

Read the rest of this entry »