As each birthday rolls around, I see visible signs of aging.  Tiny wrinkles around the eyes, “age” spots on the arms, a little (too much) thickening around the waist, and glasses constantly. A friend told me she is thankful each day she wakes up and doesn’t feel...

Who do you listen to? I can still hear my mother saying, “Deborah Jan, now you listen to me, young lady!”  I think that started about the time I was walking or talking. I must have instinctively done the opposite of whatever I was told to do from birth. That’s...

We’ve been working on a project for the last year. Anticipation has been growing as we look forward to completing the humongous task at hand – building a house. Everyone asks “how is it going?” “Have you moved yet?” Our standard answer seems to be, “we are very...

I recently heard a presentation from the Carroll Shelby Foundation about their museum and the many Shelby Cobra Mustangs they have on display. When I hear the word “mustang,” I was immediately drawn back to my hey day when driving a Mustang made you the coolest person...

The first time I heard the term “stay the course” it was my first semester of college. I had a friend in my history class who was considering dropping out. After she spoke with the professor, she told me she decided to stay in school. When I asked her what changed her...

This past week we commemorated the tragedy that occurred on September 11, 2001. It was a pivotal moment for the world, and a pivotal moment for the families of the 2,977 victims. The events of that day changed lives as well as our culture forever. Every year this...

September 20, 2022 is designated as “National Voter Registration Day.” I’m a strong believer in civic responsibility like serving on jury duty and voting at the local, state and national levels. This country was founded on basic freedoms and the freedom of the ballot...

I love hymns. Having grown up in choir since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I just love old hymns. Maybe it’s because I was the chubby little brunette on the front row pretending to sing on Broadway … but I still love singing hymns. I was reminded this past Sunday...

In today’s culture, it can take a nano-second to figure out everyone blames someone else for their problems. Just listen to television and radio, read a book or newspaper, and you will quickly surmise that’s a fact. The blame game has been occurring since time began....

Storms are a natural occurrence.  Most common are the physical storms we experience within seasons of the year.  But more common than those are the personal storms we all experience sometime in our lives. It is these storms we will discuss. If you have...

This week kids all across America are heading back to school.  Some are glad (especially the youngsters), then some not so glad (those who think school is boring). However, I bet the parents are, for the most part, happy school is back in session. Whenever I...

I’ve heard the saying “you know, patience is a virtue” all my life.  It’s always been a hard pill for me to swallow, being the Type A, Choleric personality I am.  I like to know all the answers, fix every problem, and basically have things run my way. One of...

I can hear my mother now – “Deborah Jan, watch what you say; you don’t want me to wash your mouth out with soap!”  No, ma’am, I sure didn’t (and don’t).  I didn’t realize it at the time, but now decades later I’m learning more about the impact words you say...

Webster’s dictionary defines “amends” as “to do something to correct a mistake that one has made or a bad situation that one has caused.”  Every human being at some point will be faced with making amends to someone. I certainly have. Making amends is different than...