Peace on earth (in the midst of our chaos)

Last night I was reviewing 2018 by scrolling backward through Facebook pictures. It’s amazing what can happen in a year; weight comes and goes and comes again, hair color changes, vacations are taken, and sometimes devastating things happen. While reviewing my profile, I came across the missing persons poster of my daughter from February. I …

The Girl in the Picture: a dedication to the birth mothers of my children.

Nine years ago, I was sitting across from Kirk at a Denny’s in south Phoenix not sure if I could eat; my gut was already full of nerves. About a month before, we had located one of our kid’s birth moms and after a brief phone conversation we decided to meet for breakfast. My seat …

Controlling How Your Children Turn Out

A Controlled Life, Part 2: There are a lot of articles written about the things we can control in life. The most popular things we read about controlling are how much we eat, how much we exercise, and how much money we spend. There are also a number of things that enter our life which …

The Novel

The Common Hours Buy Now on Amazon! Promo Video Also available at The Cafe at Scottsdale Bible-7601 E. Shea Blvd. Scottsdale, AZ 85260 In Williamsport, Pennsylvania, 1888, the lumber industry is turning ordinary citizens into millionaires. Mary and her daughter Sarah, live a privileged life on millionaire row in their victorian home. When Mary is …

Scented Threads

Two months ago I lost my best friend to cancer, and one week ago my youngest daughter tragically lost her birth mother. Death reminds me how vincible we are and every loss brings about it’s own kind of reflection and grief. Shortly after the death of my best friend, her widower gave me an armful …

To Love and to Let God.

Answering the call to love others even when the results could be negative. I held a purse over my head and splashed through newly formed puddles between the grocery store and my car. I laughed, and my daughter shrieked. Rain in the desert was a rare joy. She reached the car first then ran in …

Goodbye for now.

She said “yes” to her sweetheart by the edge of a lake. He would love her for another 58 years on this earth. On June 14th at 11:40am he whispered, “Goodbye sweetheart, I love you” as she took her last breath. Two months ago I sat near her, our chairs facing each other. He was …

Stopping for coffee on the way to death

"Maybe the love gets in easier right where the heart’s broke open." -Ann Voskamp, The Broken Way It had come down to a tall Sumatra with room for cream. My favorite Starbucks coffee was warming my hands through a thin paper cup. I was wondering how a cup of coffee could suddenly change the course …

Network Society Defense

A humorous fictional tale Rumors had been circulating twitter for months and videos were now surfacing on YouTube. I believed it to be a ruse until I had my own experience with them. Last month in the grocery store I saw one in isle 10 looking at pasta. He held a torn paper in his …

Deserts & Fountains: Thoughts on Thriving

The late Princess Diana told us, in a BBC interview, that in life you have to choose to either sink or to swim. She was talking about survival. In my own life I have struggled through infertility, depression, panic attacks, and adoptive parenting issues. And I would like to believe I have chosen (still choosing …