I got to cleaning my house today. You know, the January cleanup, when you go through the house packing up the holiday season for yet another year? After wrapping the ornaments in tissue paper, I looked for every festive trinket I could find to pack away. I swept the floors. I even looked under the couch to make sure I didn’t miss a single one. I want space. I need room to bring my bookshelf back into the living room and my topiary trees back where they belong. I want the counters clear and clean. I need to make room for the beautiful gifts my husband bought me for Christmas.…

As long as we’re on this earth, we’ll have trials. As long as we’re here, we’ll have pain. We know that, we’ve seen it, we’ve experienced it. But do we know where to run when we’re lonely, dejected, and down? The Bible tells us, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1, NIV) Do you see the words “ever-present” there? The word “present” is translated as “find” over 350 times in the Bible. It means to find and secure. And so, we see a picture of God coming to our rescue in times of trouble. Meeting you right where you are, He offers you hope, direction, and strength.…

Note: I’ll be away for a Christmas break until January 3rd at which time I hope to be able to tell you all about our upcoming series. (My new book has been held up with my editor, but will be out very soon!) Until then, have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. Drawn from my archives When it comes to Christmas, I’m nothing like my mom. It wasn’t until I grew up and had a family of my own that I realized how much effort she put in to making our Christmas special. I remember the weeks of preparation in which she decorated, shopped, cooked, baked, cleaned, and wrapped…

I did my grocery shopping today. The biggest shop of the year, when I buy enough food to fill our Christmas table, and more. I’m making turkey, cranberry meatballs, maple glazed ham, perogy casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, carrots, and corn. And, if there’s any room left in their tummies, we’ll have Billy Miner Pie for dessert. Earlier this month I decorated the tree. It was nice, but after looking at it for a week, I knew it needed something more. And so, I carried up the boxes we had in the basement and kept adding ornaments until every branch of the tree was full. “No one’s going to care,” my…

One of the first jobs I ever had was working as a cashier at Kmart. Sporting their teal-colored jacket I was sure to say, “Thank you for shopping our K-Mart.” at the end of every transaction. After three years, I was good at my job. I knew all of the codes and most of the customers. I rang people through quickly, but even then, we had the odd price check that would slow the line down. Most people were okay with a 5-minute delay–others not so much. And so, over the years I dealt with a number of challenging people. I’ve come to learn over time that we’ll always meet…

Every morning I wake up with a call from my daughter. In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever need an alarm clock again. It’s always the same, “How’s your day going?” Before my day even starts. Clearing my throat, I sit up in bed and tell her it’s good, and from there we both start our day. The first month she moved out on her own, we talked on the phone for close to a hundred hours. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible had I not seen the phone bill with my own two eyes. The thing is, when you love someone you want them to be a part…