“… you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”  Luke 15: 31.

Somebody said being a mother is what you do in your spare time; somebody doesn’t know that when you are a mother, you are a mother ALL the time.

When we think of a mother’s heart most of us think of love; love for her children, her spouse, her family and friends.  Mothers’ hearts should be about love.

Man sees your actions, but God your motives. Thomas à Kempis

Life is precious. Not because it is unchangeable, like a diamond, but because it is vulnerable, like a little bird. To love life means to love its vulnerability. Henri Nouwen

During this Christmas season the focus of course is gifts.  Even Jesus was a gift given to us by God.   Gifts can come in various sizes and shapes but not all gifts are wrapped in a box and covered with paper and ribbons. 

Every year during Advent we await with anticipation the celebration of Jesus’s birth with renewed hope that maybe this year His message of love and peace in our world will happen.   

The weather in Ohio right now is very nice – wish winter could remain this way all winter long.

Yesterday my seven year old granddaughter, Amira, joined me in decorating my tree. It has been a long time since just the two of us have done something together. When we ..read more

This weekend I spent a lot of time with the youngest in our family.  At the age of three he of course is the one who holds everyone’s heart in his little hands.

Below is an excerpt from a book I have written about Mary and my motherhood. As I continue to find myself ‘speaking out’ when in fact I wish to remain silent and alone, it is because I believe Mary was very much the same way.

Maxine is my furry companion these past three years.  She is a mixture of daschund and Heinz 57.  Don’t know if the mother was the daschund or the dad but safe to say – lot of mix breeding going on.

I will be doing a presentation in Dayton at the end of this month and the title of it is based on a book I have begun to write: Bridging the Gap Between Loss and Living.

Whenever we think of motherhood we often envision our own mothers or our friends’ mothers and even who we are or like to be as mothers. 

Where I work at the university in Campus Minister in the Center for Social Concern, our goal is uniting our faith with action.  By doing so we hope that our students are given a good example of faith in action.

This past week our team of 30+ staff and graduate students in Campus Ministry spent two days on retreat.   We go to one of my most favorite places on this earth – a place where God’s whispers can be heard away from the sounds and noises of every day living.

While ..read more

Who are “the least of my children?” or the “poorest of the poor?” Oftentimes the vision of the poor, the least in society comes to mind are those suffering in Africa or South America.

As I sit on the hillside peering out over the valley and observing the changing colors of the trees I decided that I am in the mid-summer of my life.

Earlier in the week we were experiencing some hot humid weather here in Ohio.  My one granddaughter age five was spending the day with me so I decided it would be a good day to wash my car and she was excited about the idea of helping me.

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place

During the summer months I’m a wedding coordinator for the chapel on campus.  I’m just about to leave for the wedding that is happening today.   It is an absolutely gorgeous day.  The sun is shining and it is in the low 70’s with no humidity.