Genie in a Bottle
When I was a little girl, and people talked about Jesus coming to "live in your heart," the first thing I thought of was I Dream of Jeannie. You might not consider that very godly, but, hey, I was a young girl. I imagined myself "the bottle" and Jesus' own Holy Spirit, my personal genie, who would help me and grant all my desires, while tucked neatly away in an exotically decorated (and supremely comfortable) room in my heart. As I grew older, of course, I came to realize that the function of the Holy Spirit was a bit different than I had first thought. I realized that His setting up housekeeping in my heart was no guarantee of easy times, or a "yes" to every prayer. He was there to be a...
gIRL Time
I'm propped up in a bed, in a beautiful home, watching the sunrise over the gulf of Mexico. Rough times, huh? My precious friend, Karen, arranged for the two of us and our friend, Mary, to have another friend's home for the weekend, so we could retreat somewhere really special. Certainly, it doesn't disappoint! But you know, we could be anywhere and it would be special. This particular gathering is to celebrate our 50th birthdays, all within about 5 weeks of each other, but for whatever reason, in whatever location, there is something really extraordinary about this friendship. First of all, we met on the Internet. No, there is not a friendship "dating" service. Mary and I met...
Security Breach
Greetings from TGI Friday's at DFW International Airport. I'm on my way to Florida; three days with two of my very best girlfriends, and a week with the grandbabies. Color me ecstatic. It's pretty busy here this morning, probably having to do with it being a Friday and the last weekend of summer for a lot of Texas towns. My man dropped me off good and early (just the way I like it), and while it started that way because he had to get to a meeting, it turned out to be a really GREAT thing because I got hung up in security. I know you'll find this shocking, but I typically am not pegged as a threat. In fact, I'm usually the kind of person the TSA WANTS to fly the friendly skies, so...
The Big Adventure
Just after dinner, she sat out on the back steps, catching a glimpse of the dark, enormous house next door, its roof looming over her favorite climbing tree. The house had always been a source of fascination for her. It was a really old house, two stories of stately brick, in dark shades of brown. She knew someone owned it, but she never saw anyone there, and she had really been watching from the safety of her tree. Nothing was ever happening over there, and yet the yard was always mowed. Did someone live there? Really? It just didn't add up. On top of the air of mystery about the house, there was a stash of interesting-looking items around an old shed in the back yard, under some...
Opposites Attract
I feel a little like Dear Abby today. I got a message from a fairly newly-wed young person regarding the topic of being opposites in a marriage relationship, and arguments that crop up because of it. I'm going to try my hand at answering it here, in hopes that it might help someone else in the process. Dear Frustrated in Texas, First of all, the shine on a new and glistening marriage eventually starts to wear off. I hate to be the bearer of this disheartening news, but it's true. You are going to face the reality of waking up and discovering that the stuff your spouse does, that you used to find adorable, now drives you absolutely crazy. There will be parts of your dreamy, newlywed...