Luke 15:11-32 His name was Charles, we called him Chuck. He was 13 years old in August of 1934; he would be 14 in December. The previous summer, with our parents’ permission, he had spent two weeks on the Big Thompson River, fishing and exploring. He had always been independent, able to take care of…

To do what I believe in is my battle. Like the recovering alcoholic, I know that in my own strength I am powerless. Jesus provides the strength I need. We are all invited—  Keep your wants, your joys, your sorrows, your cares, and your fears before God. You cannot burden Him, you cannot weary Him.…

Glenn Coon was one of the popular evangelists during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. During each of his series of studies he devoted time to discussing family happiness. He came up with an idea that I found worked. His suggestions: “Choose a time when you will both be relaxed and not under pressure, perhaps on…

I grew up in a family who loved to talk. Often that talk degenerated into arguments, each one certain that his/her opinion was the only valid one. And arguments can often result in hurt feelings. My dad used to say, “A gentleman is one who has more concern for the other person’s rights than for…

Back in the 1940s, we had chapel at Walla Walla College three times a week. This particular day, E. Straus Cubley, head of the Business Department, had the podium. He was an impressive man, iron-gray hair, better than 6 feet tall, athletic in build, impeccably dressed. He started his lecture with a confession: “I was…

Every morning after an hour or so of being aired, I make the bed. This answers to my personal need for tidiness. I do not allow dirty dishes to collect. As soon as the meal is over, either I wash them in the sink and rack them, or put them in the dishwasher. Guests don’t seem…

I lived for thirteen years in a five bedroom house, with a huge attic and a full basement. From that I went to a flat with three generous bedrooms and a 15 x 24 living room. Now I live in a 14 x 70 singlewide. Through all of this, I have learned the importance of…

It was in the same article that I read, “Do It Now.” It is easy to think, “I’ll have more time or will feel more like doing it tomorrow.” Unfortunately, too often that tomorrow never comes. For me, once I actually get into a job, even an unpleasant or difficult task, there is satisfaction in doing it.…

Having, of a sudden, to be both homemaker and support of my family, I found myself overwhelmed by the minutia of my day. Reader that I am, I picked up a copy of a women’s magazine, and read; “Handle Everything Once.” What does that mean, I wondered. The article went on: Plan that you get the…

This morning, my friend Sheri took me out to her garden to cut me some small zucchinis. Her garden consists of a dozen concrete block-based raised beds, individually canopied by white PVC pipes, covered with black bird netting. “Why the netting?” I asked. “To keep the deer out,” she answered, “and it works.” Our North Idaho deer are…

I was living in Macon, Missouri, a fifty-four year old single elementary Christian school teacher. Asked to teach an adult Sabbath School class, I did a midweek overview of the lesson. One of the texts was Ephesians 1:1-14. My first reading was casual; a second time it hit me—this is truly significant, and I outlined…

My second year at Walla Walla College, I took Tom Little’s class in American Literature. The textbook, by Quinn, Bough, and Howe, was two and a half inches thick! Professor Little had a habit of asking a question of a specific student rather than to the class in general. If that student could not answer, he…

When I was perhaps nine or ten I attended Vacation Bible School at the Presbyterian Church. The minister who taught the Bible lesson sent us all home to find out where the text for the day, “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, but the greatest of these was charity,” was found. My dad used his…