A long time ago, when I was in college, I majored in Early Childhood Education, and in my first year one of the recommended classes was “Music Appreciation.” I remember thinking the name was strange, as I wasn’t sure how you could teach appreciation. By this time, I had already had many years of piano lessons, guitar lessons, and voice lessons, and I wouldn’t have said they increased my appreciation for music. I had loved music as long as I could remember, and as a child I had enjoyed countless hours of sitting by my father on the piano bench. And later, when my sister and I were both fairly…

As old as I am, I still love a good fairy tale. You know: a story with kings and queens, princes and princesses, valiant warriors, and dragons to be slain. To be allowed to explore worlds in my own imagination is a privilege my parents granted, and I am forever grateful. It is possible that this encouragement to “see” with my imagination actually opened me up to the possibility of believing in an invisible God. Imagine, if you will, a forever Kingdom. One with a good and wise King, whose people love each other fiercely and serve their King with loyal adoration. In this Kingdom there is always light and…

As the season begins to change and the days become cooler and shorter, our Humming birds have moved South. I will miss them but have sure and grateful confidence they will return in the Spring. This is the beauty and wisdom of the natural order of life on planet Earth that God has established: it is entirely dependable as long as time continues. I realize that all of the beauty and majesty of this world is evidence of the majesty and power of God. His handiwork is awesome, and it does me good to see Him in radiant splendor and remember that He not only made the world, and galaxies,…

I heard a word today that I haven’t heard often in the last number of years. We were sitting at breakfast this morning before going into the final session of a Christian ministries conference, and a member of our local congregation came and sat down with us. This young business owner and his wife have 3 school-aged children, and we were talking about the responsibility we feel as parents to provide opportunities for our children to learn, grow and discover the satisfaction of pursuing a passion. He said, “I want them to have a sage.’ “Sage” is an old-fashioned word, and I was utterly charmed to hear this young man…

Dinner is served. Throughout history, this singular announcement has ushered friends, family, and sometimes foes to a place of shared sustenance, conversation, and debate. For me, the gathering at table has almost always been a time of discovery and joy. When I was a girl, we often had missionaries from far off and exotic places receiving my parents’ hospitality, and mealtimes offered a fascinating variety of stories and conversations. Being a child of vivid imagination, I would close my eyes and picture places where people walked worn paths alongside their animals, carried jugs of water on their heads, and spoke to one another in beautiful musical tones a language I…