• 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

    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…

  • Life Lessons

    The Preservation Project

    “Are you ready for your lesson?” my niece said. “The first part of my training would be in restoration and second part has to do with preservation or conservation.” I put my phone on speaker while I grabbed my coffee and sank in my comfy chair. “Once the piece is restored then it’s preserved or protected from future damage. That is referred to as art conservation.” (Britannica.com) We chatted about her future plans and dreams until I ran out of coffee, and she had to go. The conversation ended, but my mind didn’t. To preserve or protect from future damage… Isn’t that what God does when we choose to surrender…

  • 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…

  • Motherhood

    Relationships: Are yours Healthy or Unhealthy?

    She slammed the front door and sprinted up the stairs. “She’s mad at me…again!” my teenage daughter cried as she plopped on my bed. “I don’t know what to do mom. I feel anxious every morning wondering if she’ll be happy or get mad at me for no reason. She always gossips about other girls and is negative all the time!” “Honey, it’s time to talk about healthy and unhealthy relationships” I said. “How do we know the difference?” she asked. “Well, let’s find out!” I picked up the book I had been reading, The Search for Significance, by Robert McGee. “These are signs of an unhealthy relationship.”  When either…