Christmas: a story crazy enough to believe
It was the absurdity of the Christmas story that I found most convincing, it has changed actual people who kneel in awe at the side of a manger.
Jennifer Dukes Lee
Help wanted
It happened like this one Sunday morning at my brother-in-law’s church in Minnesota:
For better or for worse
The small country church where our family worships every Sunday turned 125 years old this summer. We celebrated with a pageant, picnics, and an old-fashioned “hymn sing” under a big white tent. We lingered long over tables, while our children ran unending circles around a church tucked into the crook of a farm field.…
To Him who is able
In the midst of the hard things of life, we cannot get over the glory of the God of our immeasurably mores.
Wake-up call
A beautiful woman sat across the table from me every week throughout our study on the Book of James. I spied on her, sneaking glances over the top of my workbook as she tilted her head and flipped through the Scriptures with carefree ease. It was as if she could find Ezra as easily as Genesis. I noticied that she had one of those fancy…
The "perfect" smile
Our nine-year-old has been practicing her smile for two days now. School pictures are this morning. She set out her shirt last night, along with a matching hair-clip and cubic-zirconia earrings. These things, she could plan for. But that smile? She’s not sure what will happen when the photographer snaps the shutter.…
The sound of love
I was standing at the bathroom mirror, combing through wet locks, when the telephone rang. Jan, a widow from town, had dialed my number. I could hear the sorrow in her quiet “hello.” The men had rung her church’s bell for the very last time, and they were lowering it from the tower. It would never ring here…
Emptying, refilling
It’s tough letting her grow big. But there she goes. This mama is stuck here, all spectator-like on life’s bleachers, begging God to make the sun stand still. I’d like one more day of Little, please. It’s not her first date, for crying-out-loud. So what’s with me? It’s just a tooth. Her first tooth fell out. That’s all. I repeat:…
So much
I open my eyes to see digital numbers cutting through the dark, a steady red in the blackness. The bedroom clock reports that it’s 5:50 a.m., an hour earlier than I usually rise on a dark winter morning. My husband still slumbers. Our blankets rise and fall with each breath. Outside, these farm fields hibernate under a white…
A wood-carved valentine
I ask the world’s most obvious question: “All right, who did this?” I jab a finger at the letters carved into the back of the wooden kitchen chair: A N N A. Anna’s older sister chimes in first, rolling her eyes for dramatic effect. “I recognize those backwards Ns anywhere,” she says. Anna’s fork falls with a guilty clink…
The science of being charming
He walks into the room. You immediately notice. Something about him draws you. He pulls you into conversation and commands the attention of the people around you. You walk away and think, “I like him and enjoyed his company.”
Break the complaining habit
You had a crummy day. Not much went right and you are exhausted. You find yourself in a Grinch mood. As a result, the rest of the day is spent complaining and venting.
Keeping secrets
A patient told me, “I have kept a secret from my husband. But if I tell him, it could end our marriage.”