Happy Like This

Boots 2

I’ll never forget my first encounter with Ann Voskamp and her book One Thousand Gifts. It is no secret that I love this author and her writings. I’ve written about my love for Ann many times before now.

I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble, book in hand, settled deep into an overstuffed chair. I opened One Thousand Gifts, a gift from my sister, and began to read words that line by line, page by page changed my heart and changed life. Instantly absorbed in Ann’s words of

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Filling In The Blanks

Goodbye

I know that for many of you Christmas has been over for a solid month, but for me, Christmas did not end until the last weekend of January.

Due to a new position at my brother-in-law’s workplace, my sister and her family were not able to make the 872 mile drive from their home in North Carolina to Michigan in time for Christmas this year. We all agreed that we would wait as long as necessary to celebrate the season if that’s what it took for us

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“Oh, Child”

Fussy Baby

Yesterday morning as my family circled around the breakfast table, my youngest daughter Tenley, was in a fitful mood.

At 15 months old, Tenley sat in her highchair and fussed profusely over everything I offered her. Not even her favorite combination of blueberries and cinnamon toast could appease or coax a smile.

“Oh, child,” I said, feeling a bit exasperated. “What is it you want that isn’t being given to you.”

As the words left my mouth, I wondered at how many times God has spoken the

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Three Reasons Why I Love Snow

Snow

The first snowfall of the season came to my Southwest Michigan home yesterday afternoon.

Like many northern folk, I have a love/hate relationship with snow. I love it around Christmastime, as most people do, but soon thereafter I begin to tire of it as the Michigan winter drags on. Lately, however, I have begun to notice a difference in my attitude toward snow. It seems the scales have tipped in favor of love for the crystal white bounty, and yesterday as I watched it float to earth,

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