My Courses

Christmas has come and gone along with the family visits and delicious food most of us take for granted. This year, for Dwayne and me, our family reunion was extra special because it included a daughter who hasn’t been with us in years. Our visit was very sweet, rebuilding family relationships and overflowing my heart…

It’s Christmas Eve, perhaps my second favorite day of the year with tomorrow being number one. Today is pregnant with hope, trembling with anticipation for the fulfillment of his Word, the arrival of Messiah. Today is a day of wonder; to contemplate why God planned our redemption this way—why He planned it at all. Was…

Travel! We all know the challenges. Even the simplest trips, like driving a day or two to visit family over the holidays involves planning, packing, and extra expenses like gifts, gasoline, and most importantly—dozens of Christmas cookies. Think of the huge endeavor of going away for the whole summer. I know some teacher families who…

The temperature had dropped into the 30’s on Sunday night and Dwayne and I tucked hats under our head coverings. No one would notice in the dark. We were participating in our church’s biannual three-day production of Cradle to the Cross, which is a drive-through drama with a fabulous set and 150 people dressed as…

The furnace was out, but we were thankful for sunshine heating up our great room through its wall of windows. The propane fireplace gave some extra heat and a lot of ambiance. We were thankful for the relatively warm house and the promise of our furnace man to fix it as soon as he could.…

Dwayne, Harry, and Ben stood by the airplane, all packed to leave. They’d worked on the Piper Warrior the day before, knowing the brakes needed some attention. They’d fixed them—or so they’d thought. But a morning inspection revealed the problem persisted. Realizing they were out of time to work on them further, they threw their…

Moses had died. Joshua was in charge of leading God’s people across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. Joshua had been a good student of Moses, understanding that God has His own plan, and His own timing for executing that plan. And from experience, Joshua knew God’s plan would be unexpected and surprising—after…

The sunrise over the Sea of Galilee buttered the sky first, then spilled over the water in glorious golden hues of gold. What a welcome on our second morning in Israel! We were heading north of the Sea to the place where many believe Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. The previous day we’d…

Today is packing day for me and last minute meetings for Dwayne. We leave for Israel tomorrow! I can’t wait to see Jerusalem and Bethlehem and Cana and Nazareth and imagine our Lord Jesus living in those places. This morning I read Psalm 27 and thought not only about what it meant to its author,…

My flight from Albuquerque landed at Baltimore-Washington Airport last Saturday at 11:30 a.m. I grabbed my suitcase, took the escalator upstairs, and hurried outside to find Spirit Airlines, hoping to catch Dwayne as he dropped Gary, his amazing driver, off to fly to his home in Florida. The very second I arrived, Dwayne pulled up…