Mornings with Jesus

SPRINGTIME COMES and I think of May days at the old cemetery in Pasadena, California, where many a relative of mine was buried. My grandfather belonged to the American Legion, and on Memorial Day he and other members would put small flags next to the

I’M A GREAT “STARTER.” I instigate enthusiastic ideas, whether they involve cleaning a closet, canning jam, or planting a huge garden. However, I often get in over my head. Once all the items are pulled from the closet, the mess overwhelms me. After

MY HERB GARDEN IS A series of hanging baskets. I step onto my back deck to snip basil and thyme for the sauce simmering on the stove. Often, I pick rosemary for no other reason than the aroma it leaves on my hands. A few leaves of mint tossed into my

AS SOON AS THE FROST disappears and the daffodils appear, I’m ready to garden. A couple of years ago, I determined to simplify the work but still make the garden as beautiful as possible. Perennials would return on their own, but I planned to cut bac

I GREW UP IN INNER-CITY New York where the only greenery around was the shrubs and grass surrounding our public housing project. After I got married, we bought a house in the suburbs with a small backyard. It was a dream fulfilled. I’m a nature lover

I IMAGINE THAT NAOMI HAD a picture in her mind of how her life would turn out. She probably assumed that her family would ride out the famine in Moab and then return to Bethlehem, where her sons would marry hometown girls and fill her life with grand

THIS PAST MARCH, OUR FAMILY of five moved into a cute cottage with a small front yard. I have a thing about front yards. They need flowers. This yard was covered in weeds. So I yanked them up. They grew back. I yanked them up again. Weeds are crazy p

“THE WEATHER’S TOO NICE TO stay indoors,” said my sixth-grade teacher. “Let’s go outside and play soccer.” My heart sank. Oh no. Not again. The teacher appointed two boys as captains. They took turns choosing the peers they wanted on their teams. As

I WAS JUST GETTING TO know the woman sitting across from me, but we’d connected and found we had some painful things in common. I was on the other side of my crisis; she’d barely begun hers. It felt strange to be having this conversation in the same

I ATTENDED A FUNERAL SERVICE today. It was emotional just stepping in the door of First Baptist Church, the church where I grew up. Funny how smells, creaking stairs, a shiny black piano, and banners with the names of God can just take you home. Sudd

IF I’M COMPLETELY HONEST WITH myself, I have, at times, entrusted my “salvation” to other people. I’ve wanted someone to bail me out of an emotional or practical bind or looked to people for quick, decisive answers. Most especially when I’m feeling o

TODAY, I’M SIFTING THROUGH FAMILY photos, remembering and missing my mom. She was my best friend. Because of our mutual love and trust, I tried my best to obey her. As I followed her wishes, I could see the delight in her eyes and knew she was proud

MY AGING MOTHER IS INDEPENDENT. She lives alone, prepares her own meals, and drives. Every day, she is a slender vision decked in a fancy ensemble with dangly earrings, bangles, and baubles. Friends call her “Pearl” because she is precious. My mother

I LOVE MY MOM’S HANDS. They are capable and hardworking. Veins line the top of them. They are weathered from years of working in her garden. But these are the hands that felt my feverish forehead when I was little. I reached for them in the middle of

I’M ONE OF MANY WHO have made a conscious decision to adopt the Jesus Meal Plan. Its actual name may be something different, but from my perspective, it means taking no more than my body needs, savoring each morsel as a gift from Him, listening to si

NO ONE LIKES REJECTION. UNFORTUNATELY, it’s a part of life. Diligent employees get passed over for promotions. Husbands leave loyal wives. The list goes on. In high school, I was never good at team sports. So gym was my least favorite subject—especia

ON A FORUM FOR PEOPLE with chronic illness, a patient mentioned how a specific type of doctor utilized a technique that had brought her relief. Since I hadn’t tried any new approaches for a while and wanted to improve my own condition, I decided to l

IT WAS A CINDERELLA STORY. Austin Bibens-Dirkx threw pitch after pitch in the minors, always hoping for a chance in the majors. Twelve years passed, and at age thirty-two he received a call-up from the Texas Rangers. After two weeks as a bullpen reli

ONE DICTIONARY DEFINES GENTLENESS AS “sensitivity of disposition and kindness of behavior, founded on strength and prompted by love.” I see my son model that definition with his seven children. Matthew is over six feet tall and towers over his little

THIS PAST FEBRUARY, WE WERE ready to move into our new rental, but we were told that because of some renovation holdups, our new rental wasn’t ready for us yet. Jesus, hold us close. For two weeks, we stayed with some wonderfully hospitable friends.

AS SOON AS I SAW the announcement for a local authors’ event, my heart sank. Why wasn’t I invited to be part of it? I’m a local author! The contact person was a friend of mine. Did she not want me there? Was I not important enough? Not a good enough

LIVING A “FISHBOWL” LIFE AS both a pastor’s daughter and a minister’s wife may have contributed to my discomfort in the limelight. Or perhaps it was simply my temperament. Regardless, writing books ushered in new opportunities for speaking and new ch

I WAS RAISED IN A spiritual tradition that required that I confess my sins to clergy. It was usually a pretty formal process, punctuated by some “homework” to attain healing. This practice, however it was intended, always left me feeling ashamed. Jam

ONE OF MY FRIENDS WHO had been depressed for seven years told his sister he was ready to commit suicide. The sister called the doctor, who had my friend committed to a psych hospital. He didn’t want to go, but there was nothing else to do. After a co

TRAVELING IS ONE OF MY passions. Whenever I have the chance, I hop into the car or onto a plane for a new adventure. Last week, my husband, David, and I returned from my most recent journey—a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. Traveling the highwa

MY FRIEND TATUM JUST HAD her third baby. Having three children under the age of four is no small undertaking. Especially when the smallest one seems hungry all the time. I have all kinds of empathy for her. I remember those foggy days of early mother

RECENTLY I HEARD A PASTOR on TV say that when you say yes to Jesus, you must say no to other things. That notion of sacrifice has been a part of my testimony. When I first became a Christian, I traded happy hours for evening church service. I traded

DOES ANYONE REALLY LIKE DISCIPLINE? Sure, I don’t mind gloating a bit when I’m able to exercise some self-discipline, but mostly I don’t want anyone disciplining me. Yet God says He disciplines those He loves and that discipline produces good results

ONE OF MY FRIENDS VISITS a particular coffee shop every morning, gives a loaded gift card to the clerk with instructions to use it as payment for customers’ orders, and asks to not be identified as the donor. Then he sits down to read and enjoy a cup

ONE OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN—who shall remain nameless—was in trouble again. The situation called for some carefully constructed grandparent-talk. I started formulating my grandma version. Something to convince the child to make a better choice. Point A

WHILE SHOPPING WITH MY TWELVE-YEAR-OLD granddaughter, Lacey, I showed her a white headband with the words Hello Gorgeous stitched in fancy script. “I might get this for washing my face and putting on makeup,” I said. “But I would remove the embroider

MY FRIEND MARY HAS CHICKENS, and she was just telling me that one of the hens has recently been determined to sit on her eggs after she lays them. No matter what Mary does, this hen is determined to sit. She wants to have chicks. And it is her broodi

DRAGON BOATS FOLLOWED THE COURSE, racing along the wide Willamette River. With brightly painted heads at the bow and curling and intricate tails at the stern, it appeared mythical creatures had come alive to float upon the water’s surface. Inside eac

A PAIR OF GEESE NESTED on the pond behind our house. I sat on our patio to watch the goslings toddle around. Tiny balls of fluff, the world must have seemed huge and new to them as they waddled about aimlessly. But when their parents led the way, the

THE SUNCOAST OF FLORIDA HAS remarkable clouds. I’ve read it has something to do with the peninsular weather patterns, an appendage of land sandwiched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf. Whatever the reason, the sky here is often breathtaking and

I LOVE MUSIC. ALL KINDS. Most mornings that I am driving in my car, you will find the music blaring and me singing along. Music has shaped my life. I have a special fondness for hymns. Growing up as a pastor’s kid, I have memories of my mom playing t

THE OLDER I GET, THE more I notice that many people fall into one of two categories: givers and takers. We all probably know at least one person who seems interested only in what he or she can get out of a relationship. In many ways, our culture prom

FEAR WAS A BIG DEAL for me when I began writing for publication. Would my words merit an editor’s approval? If published, would they impact readers for good or bring criticism? Would they accurately teach truth or unintentionally misrepresent God’s W

WHEN WE WENT ON VACATION this past summer, we spent a lot of time in the desert. Being from the hills of Arkansas, with our house perched above the Arkansas River, my kids found this to be a completely new habitat. They collected different colors of

IN JUNE, HALLMARK MOVIES USUALLY focus on brides and their wedding preparations, which can often run into thousands of dollars. With so much attention given to the perfect dress, flowers, food, and venue for the big event, the groom is often left beh

ARRIVING FOR A LATE LUNCH at a favorite restaurant, my husband, David, and I watched a lone server struggling to serve all the tables. Her hands were full taking orders and busing tables. Near the entry, a boy hovered, a silver cross necklace glisten

AFTER A MINOR MEDICAL PROCEDURE, for which my husband was required to fast, we immediately headed to a local restaurant. While we waited for our meal, our conversation wandered from discussions about garden mulch to the latest antics of our grandkids

MY BOYS LOVE SUPERHERO MOVIES. I won’t lie; so do I. They each have a favorite hero. And I love any story with a good ending. In the battle of good versus evil, we want to see the good guy win. During those treacherous movie moments, when all hope is

“I’M OUTGROWING MY SPACE.” I set a bag of donation items in the hallway. My youngest son, Nathan, and I had been living with my parents for almost five years. Originally, our belongings had been reduced to what fit in a ten-by-ten storage unit, my pa

MY FATHER WAS A GOOD MAN. He was a World War II vet who valued hard work, humor, and, above all, his family. But as he aged, a life filled with disappointment made him sour. He began drinking heavily, his temper raging against my mother and me. At th

“DADDY, LOOK AT ME!” I remember those words tumbling out of my mouth as a child and then hearing them from my own children years ago and from my grandchildren not so long ago. From jumping ropes to balancing hula hoops, swimming laps to bouncing on t

I LOVED MY DAD. HE was a family man and a great provider with a tireless work ethic. The hardest thing I ever had to do was to tell him I was pregnant. I wasn’t married at the time and was not a Christian. Although I was a twenty-two-year-old college

WHEN MY KIDS HEAR MY husband walk through the door at the end of the day, they peal in delighted unison, “Daddy, Daddy!” rushing him with hugs and reports of the day. “Daddy, Daddy!” sounds like joy, trust, and intimacy. My husband, Ray, is an awesom

THE POND ON OUR PROPERTY is a memory-making setting. Our children and grandchildren learned how to fish there. We invite other families to experience their first fishing “outings” in this place that almost guarantees enough success to feed a fishing

THREE WRITING DEADLINES WERE CLOSING IN—all at the same time. For a few weeks, I sat glued to my desktop computer from early morning until late at night, exiting my office only to prepare meals or sleep. During that time, my shoulders often grew tire

SOMEONE RECENTLY MENTIONED WHAT A blessing my abundant imagination must be—and I had to think about that. It had made life more pleasant growing up, since I could entertain myself while working long, hot days in the cotton fields. It came in handy fo

WRONG THINKING ABOUT MY PHYSICAL health landed me in dire straits. For too long, I allowed my schedule to override my body’s need for exercise. I don’t have time to take a walk now, I reasoned as I worked at my computer desk. I’ll walk later. But lat

THIS SUMMER, WE ARE PARTICIPATING in a farm share. Each week, a box arrives with vegetables harvested at the local farm. The selection depends on many things. If the spring was cold, we might get peas longer into the summer. If too much rain floods t

LAST SUMMER, OUR FAMILY ACCEPTED an invitation to visit relatives by a lake. They have a beautiful home, and the setting is picture-perfect. But our host likes everything “just so” and has a habit of acting put-upon even as she insists on going out o

I LOVE HOW SCRIPTURE USES so many references to nature and vegetation in both the Old and New Testaments—trees, rivers, vines, branches, seeds, plants, and fruit. When I think of fruit, I think of a sweet and healthy treat. Sweet, ripe peaches are my

REMEMBERING THE SCENE FROM THE Netflix series The Crown still gives me chills. Princess Elizabeth’s father has died, making her Queen of England. As she changes into a black mourning dress, she reads a letter from her grandmother, offering wisdom as

DURING THE SUMMER, I SUBSTITUTE-TEACH at my boys’ old preschool. This summer, I had the opportunity to work in the two-yearolds’ class. From the time they were dropped off until the time they were picked up, they didn’t stop moving. They were into ev

THE VAN DRIVER KEPT ME entertained the entire trip to the airport with stories of kayaking after quintuple bypass surgery, having been forbidden—by his grown children—to race motorcycles anymore, and experiencing the delightful antics of his grandchi

DURING LUNCH, I FOUND MYSELF wishing I had some duct tape to slap on my mouth—although that would have made it difficult to enjoy my salad. I sat and listened as my two friends went on and on about a particular television series. The previous night’s

I SPEND AT LEAST A day a week in torment. No matter what’s going on in reality, my mind seems to whirl with catastrophic scenarios or just stomach-churning anxiety. I’ve never been diagnosed with a mental health issue, and since many days I enjoy pea

MY SON HARPER JUST FINISHED eighth grade. The newspaper can tell you he was quarterback of the football team. A school yearbook shows he’s a leader and a heartthrob. Read his report card and you’ll know he got an A in each of his classes, even Honors

AS THE MOTHER OF TWO adult sons, I believe I still am responsible for them in many ways. Their behaviors, belief systems, occupations, and other life choices—good or bad—are a result of how their father and I raised them. And some bad choices on thei

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated. Scripture quotations marked (AMP)