Category Archives: christian growth

Camp 2020 (otherwise known as Oma/Papa Camp) has just concluded for our 3 grand-kiddos from out of town. Boy, did we have fun! And boy, are we tired! There is a reason God makes us do the parenting thing during our younger years. We swam twice a day, did all kinds of crafts, painted t-shirts, baked and decorated some really fun little Bundt cakes, put together a fairly hard puzzle, ate Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes…you get it…we were busy! One of the favorite crafts for the girls was making friendship bracelets. I found an easy to follow video which taught me how to make these cool bracelets which in turn let me teach my 2 granddaughters how to make them. At least 10 or 12 bracelets were made in just a few days. For those of you with 6-12-year-old kids or grandkids who like making things, I have attached the video link here to teach you how to do it.

When I was out of ideas of entertaining things to do, we began to sing and out of the blue, from somewhere deep in the hollows of my mind came the words, “John Jacob Jingle Heimer Smith, his name is my name too…” Those words got the boys’ attention. They especially loved it when I sang it louder and louder. I haven’t thought about that song in years, and yet, those words and tune were there at just the right moment. Isn’t the brain amazing?

When we face roadblocks along the path of life, it’s good to stop and realize that our human ingenuity or sheer willpower may not be enough to resolve the problem.  Jill Briscoe I am teaching my final lesson today from my book, Pack Your Baggage, Honey, We’re Moving to Paris! for a 3-week Zoom BibleContinue reading “What is your plumb line?”

I loved snow skiing as a kid. Having grown up near the Adirondack mountains made skiing an easy and fun “fit” for me. During one winter break from school, my parents splurged on a week of ski lessons for me. I was excited and had the time of my life, discovering more about skiing. During one of my earliest adventures in skiing, I concluded the trip by wrapping myself around a fence at the entrance to the ski lodge. I had figured out how to ski but hadn’t quite perfected stopping yet. And so, you can see why I required those lessons! Part of the entire skiing experience was always getting out-fitted for the adventure. The first 45 minutes or so at the ski slopes were always spent at the rental shop getting fitted for whatever you happened to be missing from your collection of equipment. The “out-fitting” was an essential part of the experience.