Six workable irons stood together on a shelf in her garage, silent witnesses to the futility of her life. It was a yard sale of mammoth proportions. For our small community of only several hundred people, it was the event of the year (around 1986), and it provided stuff for yard sales for years to come. I imagine that the items from that sale are still being circulated in yard sales to this day. It all started when a lady died in our church. Well, she didn't pass away during the service, (Dan ... View the Post
My Biggest Blessing
I have a picture here of a Mom and Dad and three kids who lived on practically nothing and yet had the time of their lives most of the time. While pouring over old photos of our family recently, I came upon some pretty funny shots and precious memories of our family's growing-up years. Sure, there were the hard spots, troubles, mistakes and burdens and heartaches. But from this old photo, I see a family with joy in their eyes and laughter on their lips. It reminded me of the ... View the Post
At the End of the Rope
Life is funny. The very moment you think you are at the end of your rope, God steps in and reveals Himself. Why does He wait so long? Like Abraham and Sarah. He could have given them the promised child when they were young. Why did He wait until they were 100 and 90 years old? Why did they have to wait until having a child became a laughing matter? Is anything too hard for the Lord? I was thinking the other day about the times in our lives when we've been at the end of our rope. ... View the Post
Sleeping With A Stranger
Sometimes our best laid plans go strangely and dangerously awry. What should have been an easy four-hour trip from Spokane, WA to Missoula, MT aboard a comfortable Greyhound bus turned into an epic journey full of scary adventures and wild experiences for me. The skies were blue and there was about six inches of new snow on the ground that day, Dec. 7th, 2012, as Dan and I drove to Post Falls, Idaho to attend our annual Christmas luncheon for the pastors and wives in our district. I ... View the Post
Life Lessons I Learned from My Cat
1) Don't make judgments too quickly. Something that looks undesirable might turn out to be the best. I really didn't want the kitten my neighbor brought to me. She looked scrawny, her eyes were runny, she probably had fleas and worms, and worst of all, she was afraid of me. She looked back at me with incredibly blue eyes and I saw only fear. She was all white except for her ears (which were brown) and her tail (which was black). My daughter wanted to call her Dipstick. If I'd had a choice, I ... View the Post
Laugh Here — A Chiropractic Cow
God must have a sense of humor! Dan suffered with a bad back and almost constant pain for many years. He saw many chiropractors, spent a week in the hospital, did exercises and prayed a lot about the pain. I suffered along with him, hoping and praying that something would heal his back! Little did we dream that a cow would be the answer to our prayers! One day while living in Culdesac, Idaho, Dan went to help a fellow in our church with his cows. He was "working" cows -- don't remember what he ... View the Post
