Thoughts Along the Journey

If you've read my blog for any time at all, you know I used to home school my two boys. It was a wonderful five years, but it was definitely stressful. This year, they are both attending our parochial school. It was a big adjustment (and sometimes still is), but overall, they are doing well. Since the time we made the decision to send them to school, I have had many people ask, "Well, now that they are going to be gone all day, what are you going to do with yourself? Are you going to get a job? You're going to be so lonely there by yourself. Won't you get bored?" I have to admit, too, that these are some of the same questions I asked myself! However, I decided to take it slowly. I haven't been "just" a wife and mom for over five years, since I was also "full-time teacher". My life has settled into a routine of sorts, with laundry, housecleaning, and groceries taking up most of my daytime hours. Evenings are spent helping the boys with homew...

Most of my readers know about the tornado that destroyed my hometown of Greensburg, Kansas, on May 4, 2007. I grew up on a farm just a few miles north of this town. I found this photo of the hair salon where I used to get my hair cut. (And my mom was a regular patron, before the tornado.) To know I sat in one of those chairs...wow. The shock still hasn't worn off, even though it has been almost a year. I haven't seen the devastation in person yet. Possibly this summer. I'm not sure how I'll handle it when I do see it for the first time. If you want to view updates on the progress of the town's rebuilding efforts, I have links on my sidebar. E-Clips Hair Salon

My Easter weekend was quite interesting, to say the least. There were a variety of events at church, as well as situations friends were experiencing. The weekend had some extreme highs and lows. There was the Easter vigil service, in which many were baptized, confirmed, and received into the Church. I cried tears of joy! There was the prayer request for a young baby. Her mother discovered a growth on the child's leg. The doctors have diagnosed it as cancer. There was the excitement of Sunday morning, and the elation of celebrating the resurrection of the Lord. There was the devastating news that a friend's grandson committed suicide. A young man with a bright future... There was the delight in seeing a friend's 4-day-old baby girl, born just before Easter. A tiny little rosebud; a reflection of God's glory. A reminder that there is always life after death... I am so thankful for the empty tomb. There are so many struggles and trials in this life that would simply ...

"But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; for I know you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.' " Matthew 28:5, 6 I hope that your family had a most blessed Resurrection Sunday. Our entire weekend was busy, but full of reminders of the great wonder of Christ's resurrection. Rejoice, dear friends, for He is risen!

"But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law..." "...to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." Galatians 4:4, 5 .

Some type of "bug" has had me down all week. I'll be back when I feel a bit better. Keep me in your prayers!

"Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7b) I'm sure most of us are familiar with the story from John chapter 8. The Pharisees and scribes, ever on the lookout for a way to trick Jesus, presented a woman to Him. A woman caught "in the very act" of adultery. There was no doubt that she was guilty. No question of innocence here. (Although I've always wondered why the man was not brought forward as well. The Law required both guilty parties to be punished.) So now, what would Jesus do? Would He break the Law by saying she was simply free to go? Would He do the "righteous" thing and begin the stoning Himself? Would he question her? How would He deal with this sinner? And what did He do? He wrote in the dirt! Some have speculated that perhaps He was writing down the sins of those gathered. Some have suggested that He may have been writing out the Ten Commandments. Others have surmised that...

As some of you may remember from several months ago, Laura Spradlin, at Sugar Bunny Boulevard , started a project called, "Rebuilding Greensburg--Block by Block." The idea was for people to donate afghan squares, which Laura and a team of volunteers would assemble into afghans. These afghans will be delivered to the tornado victims in Greensburg, KS (my home town). I received the following e-mail from Laura: Joni, this is gonna be quick but I wanted to be sure that you know we're doing an afghan delivery on Saturday March 8th at the First Baptist Church there in Greensburg. My contact person is Pastor Marvin George. Please let your family know about this and let me know of any names of people that you know will NOT be able to attend the event on Saturday so that I can be sure they get afghans delivered that day! Thank you so much for everything you've done to support and encourage me during this project. May you be blessed in every thing that you do. :) ...

I recently read a disturbing story. It was a firsthand account of an African American man's experience. The thing that most disturbed me wasn't that it happened in recent years--though that in itself is quite upsetting. But the thing that bothered me the most was that it happened at all . It seems he was dining with another gentleman. In the midst of their conversation, another man, unknown to both of them, called the author "boy." In the African American experience, for a man to be called "boy" by a white man is a very derogatory and demeaning statement. It is to say, "I am white, so I am a man. You are not, so you are just 'a boy'." Even as I read the words, I was angered. I was ashamed. I wish I could apologize to the author for words spoken by another of my race. The author handled the situation with the utmost dignity, and, consequently, preserved his own Christian testimony in the midst of a very trying situation. The point of it all ...