I was just thinking of glorious wonder moments from our travels across this country: – Grand Canyon: the shadows and light that chase each other in that grand hole – Arches National Park: rock that reaches for the sky, then bends back to earth – Zion National Park: walls of wonderment just feet from each other – Bryce Canyon National Park: cathedral-like pinnacles reaching for the sky – Canyonlands National Park: a combination of all of the above–such an underplayed but delig

I think I first understood the concept of mercy the last week of my high school chemistry class. From the first day of that class I hated it. The trigger occurred when Mr. Winters said, “Memorize the periodic table of elements.” My reaction was WHY? It was on a giant chart in front of the classroom. Why would I ever need to know 105 (hey, it was awhile ago) abbreviations for chemical elements if they were all right there on a big chart at the front of the classroom? (Hey, the

When I got my teaching credential years ago, I never pictured myself teaching elementary school students. However, that’s what happened when cutbacks occurred at the high school where I was teaching after one year there. All of a sudden I found myself faced with the challenges of teaching not only English but also math, history, geography, current events, science, art, and P.E. And I was newly pregnant with our fourth child. There were things I never imagined I’d have to do,

Years ago when Craig proposed to me, I was a senior in college, and he was a first-year law school student. One of the crazy, random thoughts at that time that went through my brain was this: “I’m going to marry a lawyer, and I’ll never have to worry about money.” Well, as life turns out we still struggled to pay bills as we built a house and raised four kids in a rural town of just about 1,000. While business folks from our little town were MOST enthusiastic about a lawyer h

“She has a mind of her own.” That was what I heard my mom say about me as a child. And what does that mean? At the best, determined, goal-oriented. At the worst, disobedient, uncooperative, stubborn. I think my mom meant the latter description but always hoped for the best. Noah has always been such inspirational character to me. God asked him to do the impossible, and more than once the scripture tells us Noah did all God commanded him to do. His story is about obedience. Wh