• Life Lessons

    HELP

    “Grandma, why did you do that?” Embarrassment sent heat to my face and punched me in the pit of my stomach. “What?” she responded. “I just wanted to look at the baby.” “You can’t just stop a stranger in a store to look at her baby and then tell her that her baby looks interesting!” I tried to reason with her. “Well, I was just being honest,” she declared “You know newborns are ugly and I didn’t want to be rude!” “But grandma, you need to be careful with what you say,” I pleaded. “Remember yesterday?” “How was I supposed to know that the gentleman at the restaurant was having…

  • Life Lessons

    What does Love look like Today?

    “Welcome home mom!” my children chanted as I walked into the house, aided by my husband and sister. Pain inside and outside my body debilitated me and made breathing hard. The days following my heart surgery were indescribably tough. However, something happened when I walked through the front door. I found myself in a flower shop, lined with bouquets of red and white roses, yellow and pink daisies, white lilies, red tulips and a pink orchid. “Get well soon” balloons hovered over us as caring visitors. A shower of love and gratitude invaded my body in a way I never expected. Several years ago, I heard missionary Heidi Baker say,…

  • Life Lessons

    Are You a Back Seat Rider?

    “Tell me another story Gigi!” the girls asked with praying hands. One of the things they enjoyed the most was getting tucked into bed by one of their grandmothers and hearing stories about their mom and dad as children. “Your mom always wanted to ride in the front seat,” my mother said as she settled in the sofa. “This was before seat belts or car seats.” The girls covered their open mouths with their little hands. “She urged your granddad to pass all the cars because she wanted to get to our destination quickly. And she never stopped asking “Are we there yet? How much longer?” My youngest one shook…

  • Messages from Heaven

    Restoration Project- Kintsugi Style

    “Can you tell me a little more about that restoration business?” I asked my niece. “Well,” she smiled “Technically it’s the repair or renovation of works that have already sustained decay with the attempt to restore a work to its original, undamaged appearance”(britannica.com) I grabbed another cup of coffee and sank in my favorite chair to savor my improvised lecture. “But there are other techniques used to restore pieces. Have you ever heard of Kintsugi?” Knowing that her hospital administrator aunt has limited knowledge of the art world, she barely paused for my response. “It’s a Japanese technique where they take broken pottery and instead of trying to put it…

  • Life Lessons

    Do You Know How To Float?

    “We’re not moving to the beach, right?” My husband joked. “Why are you taking so many floaties? “ We rearranged the trunk for the tenth time. “You know the water is rough this time of year, and it makes me nervous,” I said. “We’ll have to wait for them to learn how to swim perfectly. My mom always tells me how my grandmother almost drowned in the ocean when she was young. The waves were so strong she could hardly breath.” “So, what happened?” he asked. “She floated on her back until a fisherman rescued her.” “I guess we need to teach the children how to float then!’ he said.…