Curated from a Biblical Perspective
There weren’t any signs on the school saying, “Come as you are! You’re welcome here!” They certainly weren’t rolling out the red carpet for my arrival. In all likelihood, many of them didn't want me there. So how did this first grader who lived in the local public housing complex and was zoned for the worst... Continue Reading →
The world had just survived the turn of a new millennium, leaving people wondering what they were going to do with all those unneeded canned goods and jugs of water they’d hoarded in their basements or Y2K bunkers. Like most other young adults whose optimism and naiveté deemed anything catastrophic practically impossible, we barely noticed... Continue Reading →
The drive from Michigan to Ohio that Sunday afternoon, 10 years ago, wasn’t ideal by myself with two little ones. I kept the volume low to avoid waking up the nappers, so I strained to hear Sandra McCracken’s lyrics, prayed, then passed around snacks, and started videos. My mom would call with updates of how... Continue Reading →
We hold our babies, swaddle them, sing to them. We study their hands unwrapping their fingers grip on ours, wondering if they’ll be able to palm a basketball or reach an octave on the piano. We love to dream of their potential. We pray for them. But every mother knows we can verbalize only a... Continue Reading →
She whipped the car into the church parking lot, pulling the keys out of the ignition and shoving them into her purse. Being late was nothing new to us, but it usually came with some embarrassment. This time, however, being late was a relief. We hoped to slip in without having to talk with people... Continue Reading →
This past Saturday, my grandpa would’ve turned 81. He’s been gone for almost nine years now, but he still has a message that needs to be heard. Jerry Neuhart was born in 1937 to Hilda and Frank, in the beautiful rolling hills of Southeastern Ohio. He grew up in the small town of Senecaville and... Continue Reading →
The kids that used to drive her crazy were mostly grown and now had driven her to her knees instead. And not just them, but this granddaughter she was helping to raise and the ladies in Appalachian Ohio who knew her but didn’t know her Jesus. So, that early morning when I didn’t think... Continue Reading →
Her mom’s black patent leather shoes clicked over and over on the tile as she tip-toed around the kitchen. The quieter she tried to be, the more magnified the clicking was, reverberating through the house like a clanging cymbal. My mom, a teenager about to become a parent, sat in the living room clenching... Continue Reading →
We moved around my first 8 years. Making ends meet, keeping cars pieced together, and finding places we’d be welcome. An apartment for a bit, with Grandma and Grandpa for awhile, with one of your friends during my Kindergarten year, then into a nicer public housing complex. Cashiering wasn’t your passion and neither was putting... Continue Reading →
I was walking out of church that last Sunday in Ohio, dangerously full of 18-year-old-swagger with all the bravado of “The Boss” himself, sick of "living in a dump like this” and ready to find the something that was happening somewhere. I heard a car pull through the parking lot and an elderly man in... Continue Reading →
The situation takes me back 9 years ago. I'm standing at the counter mopping up crumbs while I mop up tears too. Wiping up a kitchen mess while I wipe my red, swollen eyes at the same time. The familiar lessons of sovereign bullets and choosing to give thanks in the taking, quickly come to... Continue Reading →
Horatio Spafford, author of the well-known hymn, "It is Well with My Soul," knew that his life was a portrait of grace. He and his wife Anna, served God faithfully through the big, small, and unexpected events of their lives. When they were blessed with five children, they gave thanks to the Lord and followed... Continue Reading →
A Museum of Memories 