If I am thankful for hugs, it makes sense that I also love kisses. Baby kisses are the best. When Mira was a baby, she got a terrible sore throat. I don’t remember exactly how old she was; it was summer and she was born in December, so around six months old. I took her to the doctor and …
How Far for Some Jack-in-the-Box?
J is for justification. Justification is God removing the guilt and penalty of our sin while at the same time declaring us, as sinners, righteous through Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account through faith alone. I live between Washington, DC and Baltimore. Justice, in a legal sense, is elusive. Wrongs committed often go unpunished, leading to frustration, …
You scream, I scream…
I is for ice cream. Who doesn’t love ice cream? I’m sure there are those who don’t, but I don’t want to know about you. I like chocolate ice cream, but I actually prefer vanilla with chocolate syrup. You can taste the chocolate better that way. My favorite sundae is vanilla ice cream covered with chocolate syrup and sprinkled with …
Gimme a Hug
H is for house and heat. As winter approaches, items that seem to be basic necessities to me are often luxuries in other parts of the world. When we went to Indonesia after the tsunami of 2004, we saw so many roofs and walls and entire homes that had been washed away. They were still rebuilding when we were there …
When Losing is Winning
I must now declare myself a Nano “loser.” They call it “winning” when you write 50,000 words, though you actually get only bragging rights and a “Purple Bar of Glory” for your website. I did not write 50,ooo words in November. I only wrote a little under 31,500. But I’m OK with that. It was taking too big a toll on …
A Threefold Cord Is Not Quickly Broken
G is for girlfriends. I have a group of friends I met soon after we moved here, 18 years ago. We’re all still very close, although we see each other less now than we did when our kids were all in kindergarten. Now we either have teenagers, and/or are working to pay for those insanely expensive college educations, and it’s just …
By the Light of the Silvery Moon
F is for flowers. I like flowers. I don’t know much about them, can’t identify too many of them. Roses. Carnations. Sunflowers. That’s about it. But they make me happy. Sometimes I add the $4 bouquet of carnations to my cart the grocery store when I’m buying food. They last forever and they make my kitchen a brighter place. I think John …
Thank You, Benjamin Franklin
E is for electricity. It’s one of those things we take for granted, until it’s not there. We live too far inland to get hit by hurricanes, but we get the heavy rain from them, and once in a while it knocks the power out. And sometimes too much snow or ice on a power line will take the line …
D is for Digging In
There are two things that begin with D that I am very grateful for that I’ve already written about. One is diversity, and the other is Delta jets. There are several other smaller D words I thankful for. One is denim. I love jeans; I hate dressing up. I don’t mind dresses or skirts, as long as they’re comfy. Comfort …
Do You Remember the Cookie Monster?
With all due respect to the cookie monster, C is not for cookie. I do love a good cookie, but C is for chocolate. Chocolate is the food of the gods—literally. Theobroma cacao, the scientific name for the cocoa bean, translates as “food of the gods.” The ancient Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs believed it was a source of power, …