| This Issue: Celebration - Editor Favorites |
| Updated June 14, 2009 |
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| Celebrations Don’t you love it when you have something to celebrate? I do. |
| The Hello Letter by Janel Messenger - Editor |
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| From the Archives |
| (articles you may have missed in previous issues) |
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| Oh You've Got to be Kidding There was a time in my life when I was furious with God. My life was turned upside down and there did not appear to be any relief in sight. I was mentally, physically and spiritually drained. A series of events created a pivotal moment, where for the first time, I chose not to pray to a god I was irate with. |
| A Little God Humor by Teresa Billingsley |
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| Living For... "I met a guy today who said he'd just met you over at the office. He said you were nice," my husband reported to me over dinner that night. |
| A Nice Epitaph by Dena M. Luchsinger |
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| You Are Not Who They Say Growing up, I knew that I was not my mother's favorite. It wasn't one of those things I imagined or made up in a make-believe world of pity and self-loathing, even relatives confirmed my suspicions. After having lived with us for a while, one of my aunts confirmed how I felt, and my mother's other two sisters tried to gently let me know that while my brother was my mom's obvious favorite, she stil |
| Believing Lies by Michelle Smith |
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| The Unexpected, Unexpected As I turned to face her, I froze. Could it really be my sister Jiji--who lives in the Philippines--taking my order? |
| Birthday Surprise by Jennifer Anne F. Messing |
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| Questions Without a doubt, the ragged man sitting next to me was homeless and alone. It’s hard to guess how long it might have been since he enjoyed a decent night’s rest, or a meal that consisted of something other than table scraps or prepackaged snacks, but it might have been days, perhaps weeks. I tried not to stare at him; I even hesitated to make eye contact. |
| Do You Know This Man? by Sue Laird |
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| Let's Go Shopping When you try on clothing in a store you don't know the designer, you don't know where the fabric originated, you don't know how many or whose hands have handled the garment before it was hung on the rack. |
| Don't Try it On, Wear It! by Strella Jasper |
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| Steady Hands “Do you want to speak at the funeral?” the minister attempting to put together the program for my brother’s funeral asked my sister and me. We were gathered with family and friends at my sister-in-law’s home right outside the kitchen. |
| Emergency Response Prayer by Zoe Hicks |
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| Tick-tock, Tick-tock My single friends often joke that single women in the 30s are a little crazy. Lately, I joined the ranks of the “crazies.” |
| Hormones and Cookies by Elizabeth Fabiani - CWP Co-Founder |
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| The Ripple Effect I went, but I smoked a cigarette on the way. I was headed out of my box, my comfort zone, even feeling nervous in the parking lot. With my mind chock-full of other things to do before leaving for a conference, I put hands at ten and two and focused on an available parking space. |
| Larry by Ann Ring |
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| Speaking & Knowing Fiddler on the Roof – What an awesome movie! The scenery, the music, the acting were all superb! However, what I remember most from watching the movie 35 years ago was the way Tevye, the father of the family, spoke to God. |
| Learning to Know God by Donna Meyers |
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| Polish the Silver Hospitality is both exhilarating and terrifying to me. To invite guests requires a leap of faith, in which I force myself not to lean on my own understanding. |
| Pruning Your Fear Of Hospitality by Meredith Merchant |
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| Just A Little Further Running on the beach is always an incredible experience for me. I set goals for myself. I push myself. |
| Reflections in the Sand by Kala Haiduk Sigler, M.D. |
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| Financial Reality Check There was a time when I thought that if I could just make enough money and have enough stuff, I’d be happy. In the process I amassed a great deal of credit card debt. The harder I worked the more enslaved I became. Reality began to set in that what I was doing wasn’t working so well. One morning I set out to buy groceries and came home with a car. |
| Reframing Our Finances with Faith by Patricia Prosser |
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| Running for Your Life Do you ever think of your life as a race? I have at times. I envision it as the 400 meter hurdles. The day you are conceived is the starting line. |
| She Ran the Race... And Won! by Nancy Hull |
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| Not What I Expected I thought that I would be thinner. I thought a paycheck would last beyond a weekend. I believed that loved ones would live forever. I thought I would be published by now. I thought that parenting became easier with practice. I was under the false impression that I would embrace gray hairs… |
| That's Life by Helen Washington |
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| The Heart of a Child With tears rising up in my eyes I told her, “I can’t hold you, but I can hold your hand.” |
| The Importance of Childlike Faith by Elizabeth Fabiani - CWP Co-Founder |
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| Dreams Served a la Divine During the early 1990's being a Christian recording artist sometimes just felt like one big struggle in a world of extremes. I would stand on stage in front of spotlights and thousands of people, only to go back to the hotel room with my family, wondering if anyone really cared about what I did at all. |
| The Piano by Carla Riehl |
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| The Tea Pages These scones are a favorite every time I make them. |
| The Tea Pages :: Cranberry White Chocolate Scones by Janel Messenger - Editor |
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| The Tea Pages These are my all time favorite lemon tarts! |
| The Tea Pages :: Lemon Blueberry Tarts by Janel Messenger - Editor |
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| Waiting Several weeks ago I found myself engaged in a serious hunt for a potted, red Geranium. I had decided that my sun deck needed a shock of color at the far end and in my opinion nothing would work there but a red Geranium. |
| The Waiting Stage by Paula Friedrichsen |
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| Do to Me There are so many times in the Bible when we read of others who ask that God not proceed as He has indicated He would. Jonah begged not to go to Nineveh. David begged for the life of his son. |
| This Cup by Susan Ison |
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| Trust in Prayer It was a clear, warm September evening in Providence, Rhode Island in 1946, when I stepped out onto the back porch of my mother’s tenement house before going to bed. Moonbeams danced around the back stairs and spilled over to our cottage next door, bathing the quiet neighborhood in a soft glow. |
Up the Back Stairs by Charlotte Chakmakian
and Ingrid Shelton |
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