Bible at Home

Trust It was late fall, and getting cooler almost every day. I was helping my violin teacher give violin lessons to a class of fifth graders when one ten year old girl was wearing gloves as she opened her case, removed her violin, looked at me and said, “I’ll be wearing gloves while I play…

Three year old Rosie, my granddaughter, was taking swimming lessons at a community pool, and refusing to get into the water. Her instructor, a young man who was also a life guard, called her “Little One” as he tried to convince her to at least try to get used to the water. When I heard…

The very first trip home from college usually occurs in November at Thanksgiving, and that was true for me. At that time all your high school friends eagerly gather at one of the local “hang-outs”, often a pizza place, and everyone talks at once about his or her school. Each one waits for a chance…

In the course of teaching high school English, I sometimes met substitute teachers who lived interesting lives outside the classroom. Meryl, a substitute in a history class, was an aspiring writer who was substituting until she could make a living at her craft. Meryl often spoke to me about having “writer’s block.” She said that…

A friend originally from Northern Ireland, had some family members visiting from there, and Jack and I invited them to a picnic in our back yard. I made “Shake and Bake” chicken and a marinated salad, rolls, and cake for dessert with ice cream. They were lovely people, and I enjoyed their accents as we…

The world famous soprano Beverly Sills once told this story about herself. One day she received a phone call from a close friend, relating that the friend’s father had died; and Beverly had promised years earlier to sing at his funeral. “I’m sorry, she answered her friend, I am booked a year in advance. I…

Just before we crossed Fifth Avenue in New York City, Jack was approached by a well dressed man who asked him where he had bought his hat. Jack was wearing a felt fedora (not a Stetson) which seemed quite ordinary to me and we were both surprised that in New York someone would ask about…

The same day that Jack hung a birdhouse on our patio, a pair of wrens took up residence. They have provided entertainment for us ever since. Our back yard is treacherous for small birds, as there are vigilant hawks who are also trying to raise and feed their own broods. The birdhouse is the best…

“Camp Meeting” was a time when Nana, my grandmother, went to the woods with other Christians, and slept in a tent and ate at a picnic table and listened to a preacher and sang hymns with spirit and gusto. I sometimes accompanied my father when he went to drive her home at the end of…

Miss Hysham, my Classics teacher in College, was full of enthusiasm for her subject. In the midst of a lecture she would stop and exclaim, “Isn’t this beautiful? Isn’t it simply beautiful? The language is lovely, and the images just glow in your mind! How beautiful!” Then she would continue the lecture. These outbursts occurred…