Picket Fences

The other morning my daughter was home sick from school. I was busy catching up on some writing projects. My daughter came over to the computer and climbed on my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she gave me a kiss on the check, with a whisper of "I love my mommy." Then I heard her say, "Hey my mommy doesn't care." And she reached up and grasped my face into her hands. "Mommy look at me." I looked down at her and then looked back at what I was working on. "No, Mommy, look at me." She put her hand so I couldn't see the computer and with the other hand held on to my face. She looked me in the eye and smiled. "I love you mommy." I grinned and gave her a kiss. "I love you too." I turned to go back to what I had been doing, but she was determined. She covered my eyes so I couldn't see the screen and made eye contact again and said, "Mommy, look at me." When I did, she smiled again and said, "I love...

I love to be out and about staying in contact with my family and friends. There is one thing I have come to discover about myself though,whenever I'm out and about too much, I start getting frazzled. My emotions become extreme over the issues of life. That's when I need to reel myself in and spend some time alone, doing projects, writing, reading and time in prayer. What has become a priority in my life is, to be more on top of allowing myself the alone time, I so desperately need to rejuvenitate before I become an emotional mess. As I'm learning to do this it creates more of a balance in all areas. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is, when Jesus calls the disciples to go off to the other side of the lake. He doesn't join them, but goes off by Himself and spends time in prayer. The disciples soon become in desperate need of Him because they are in the middle of a terrifying storm. Even though Jesus could see them "straining at the row",still, Jesus does...

"Once Upon a Christmas" is projected to be in our hands November 9, 2010. This is an exciting project with 20 short stories written by, Sharon Bernash Smith, Rosanne Croft and Linda Reinhardt. I wanted to take a moment to share something with you about one of the stories in this book. The story is very dear to my heart, "Only One Wish for Me". It was one of the first I wrote as a young believer. During a time of prayer, I asked for a Christmas story to write, to enable me to reach out to others and share, about this special love and gift I had received through Jesus. That afternoon I wrote out a short story about Grandpa Schooster who has been a delight in my imagination since that day. I was so excited about this story. I had everyone I could read it. And then, one year, I lengthened the story and it was performed as a play at our church. The following year a group of us brought the play to adult care facilities. We had an absolute blast. It has been a prayer of...

December 2010, found us dealing with the repercussions of the recession. I was so discouraged I spent an entire day crying. Then a thought went through my mind. What am I crying for? What's it going to do? Who cares if I cry? Not to many days later, I was looking in the fridge. It was pretty empty. "Lord, I'm going to need to go grocery shopping." I didn't want to spend any money because I didn't know when or if money was coming in again. I had enough for rent, bills, etc. so I wanted to hold on to it as long as I could. I needed to go and get my daughter from school. I had about five minutes. The doorbell rang just as I was preparing to leave. I opened it to a dear friend of mine who I saw at church or other groups, rarely if ever did we stop at each other's homes. I felt a bit awkward because I needed to leave. I invited her to join me. She said, "No, I have groceries." I offered for her to stay until I came back and she said, "No, I have ...

It's been ages since I wrote on this blog. I wanted to share with you my fiction version of a wonderful story I witnessed years ago. I hope it encourages you and helps you to have faith through whatever may be going on in your own life. Prayer IS a powerful thing. The following is a fiction story based on the true story of one woman’s prayer vigil to reach her son the only way she knew how. A CUP OF HOT CHOCOLATE I heard the front door open. I moved quick as possible from the back room to the entry way, but just as I got there, I heard the click of my son’s door from upstairs and then the sliding of the chain lock that he had recently attached to his door. I wandered back to the kitchen, disappointed once again, a missed opportunity to speak with my son. The house that use to fill with laughter when my blond haired blue eyed boy would come home now seemed to become cold and empty. I began the preparations for dinner with the hope he may join us. Several hours later I had the cha...

Have you ever felt like asking, "What next?", but then found yourself, afraid to find out what could be next? Ever watch your dream play out in another persons life? Or wondered why it seems so easy for some and your scrambling through the day, frazzled and exhausted? Have you ever just been plain weary? Those times are tough. Ever been so tired in your heart that it's hard to decipher a bump from a mountain? Especially when you hit the bump while in the middle of climbing a mountain. Mountains come in many forms, relationships, illness, finances, jobs. And in the midst of the climb, a very small bump can make it seem so hard, leaving a person left without an ounce of emotional energy or strength to deal with the very next step in life. I've discovered in moments like this, Jesus says for the weary to come to Him, and He will give the weary rest. When bumps in the road, seem to be mountains, because of the weariness you are experiencing, take the time to sit in His pr...

When up against an unplanned pregancy it can be hard to think ahead to what the ramifications our choices at this time can make. Many women, years later, discover they aborted their only child. It's a heartwrenching realization when you are on this side of the fence. Here is a story from a dear lady who is living with that experience. It was 22 years ago that I heard the news that I was going to have a baby. At first, I was really excited. I’d always wanted children and the dream of becoming a mother was finally going to be a reality. Yet at the same time, my life was like riding a roller coaster, especially in the relationship department. I don’t like riding roller coasters, but I’d been on this one for several months and Valentines’ Day had carried us to the top of the tracks. Well, we all know that a roller coaster does not remain in position long enough to enjoy the view. When I told the baby’s father that I was pregnant, he was also excited until I told him I didn’t want to ma...

I'm very honored and blessed to be able to share this story from a Dad's perspective of the choice of abortion. It's not often people take the time to realize abortion not only affects women and the life of a child, but it affects the Dad's. A Dad's testimony I was asked some time ago to put my story down in writing and typical of men wanting to avoid pain from the past I have found other things to occupy my time. Today is no exception except that I am done putting off the important things that I need to do. In the early 90’s I was not a normal mid twenties guy in the sense of social and emotional maturity. I was floating around doing what I wanted and not giving consideration to things that did not affect my daily life, including how my life affected those around me. I was sitting on the bed with my girl friend (call her Lois) at the time when my previous girl friend (call her Beth) called and told me she was pregnant. My reaction to the news must have been obvious...

I just wanted to share again the story about "pennies". So many are going through such tough times and I hope this is a note of encouragement for you. My sister and I started going for walks in the morning during the weekdays. One day there was a penny on the ground and I reached down to pick it up. I explained there was a day, not to long ago, that I wouldn't have picked it up, but instead I'd leave it for someone else who may need it. But one day, I was convicted of appreciating even the smallest blessings that may be in front of me. God knows if I need a penny or not, so I decided to start picking them up, thank Him for it and all the other blessings He gives to me. A few days later, during another one of our walks, we were talking about a burden my sister was carrying. I suddenly remembered the other thing I heard about picking up a penny. On the coin is the words, "In God We Trust". Whenever a person finds a penny, they are to confess whatever they are ...

Sometimes the affects of abortion can be hidden deep within, memories, emotions, even a lack of remembering the events of the day at all. And then one day out of nowhere, something will cause a trigger and out of the deep recesses of the cellar, the person will be brought back to their abortion experience. Also, woman and men who go through a healing process soon discover, it is like peeling back an onion. It is done in layers. Once the wound is reopened the healing process is done a gentle layer at a time. I think the following story will give you a better idea of what a man or woman deals with after abortion. This is part one of a layer of another persons story; When I became a Christian, I was so grateful. I had such a big gaping wound in my heart that I couldn’t fill and didn’t know why. After I received His forgiveness that hole was gone, He forgave my ABORTIONS! I mean it really meant more than I can say to know Jesus died on a cross for the sins of the whole world and that inclu...

My heart breaks over an issue affecting America. It’s the consequences that come from aborting a child and the adverse affects to the men and women of our society. At the time, having an abortion seems like a solution to the circumstances in a person’s life, only to cause horrible ramifications in the aftermath. Many find themselves grieving the life of their child, alone; after all it was her decision to end her child's life. Each year as the birth date rolls around, she remembers and may try to imagine what her child would look like or what they may be doing at this point of their life. The grief can run deep. Many don’t even understand they are grieving, covering the pain through the use of alcohol, drugs, food, other compulsions or by getting involved in promiscuous sex or bad relationships and sometimes wind up pregnant...again. Many choose abortion a second time, a third time, and some even more. Although having the right to choose abortion, afterward, it can become a secret ...

This morning, I read in the book of Matthew all about the "unforgiving debtor". He was a slave who was forgiven much by his master, but unwilling himself, to forgive someone who owed him a debt. The slave was pretty harsh to the person and sent him to prison until he could pay him back. Well, he got told on and when the master found out what the forgiven slave had done to another person it made him upset and he basically said, "Fine, if you're not willing to forgive although I forgave you this huge debt, then off to prison you go." Not only did he get sent to prison, but he was to be tortured until he paid the debt. Hmm, I thought that was all pretty nasty business, but the story doesn't end there, Jesus finished the story by saying, "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Okay, let's get that matter taken care of real quick, I thought. So I went down my list of anyone I may not h...

Have you ever felt like asking, "What next?", but were afraid to find out what could be next? Ever watch your dream play out in another persons life? Or wondered why it seems so easy for some and your scrambling through the day, frazzled and exhausted? Have you ever just been plain weary? Those times are tough. Ever been so tired in your heart that it's hard to decipher a bump from a mountain. Especially when we're in the middle of climbing a mountain. They come in many forms, relationships, illness, finances, jobs. And in the midst of the climb, a bump can make it seem so hard, leaving a person left without an ounce of emotional energy or strength to deal with just the next step in life. I've discovered in moments like this, Jesus says for the weary to come to Him, and He will give you rest. When bumps in the road seem to be mountains because of the weariness you are experiencing, take the time to sit in His presence. Sometimes, there is an immediate release. Som...

First entry of the New Year 2010. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May this year be filled with joy, love, peace, and a bunch of wonderful things for you. My biggest prayer is for everyone to know how much God loves them and that everything you do is important to Him.