It was totally new to me.  I’d never heard of sea glass. I was in West Africa for a week, speaking at an international women’s retreat. I didn’t know anyone there, and I was often alone. Took walks alone. Swam in the ocean alone. Not sure if my presence or my words mattered to anyone. … Continue reading Sea Glass →

It was a fun assignment. Each of us were to write a story titled “My Favorite Room” to read aloud at our Wetzel Reunion years ago. Here’s what I wrote:  “I have lots of rooms to choose from!  My family moved a lot during my growing up years (seven different houses) but I know exactly … Continue reading My Favorite Room →

2020 is here. Usually I am a “Yay! It’s a New Year!” person, but last week I was not. I was sad. Deeply sad. “Accumulated sorrow,” a friend once described it. Grief upon grief encircled me and stole Truth.  Courage.  And Joy. I was grateful when Sunday came. Due to traveling and illness, I’d missed … Continue reading A New Song →

Today is the last day of 2019, my final blog piece for the year, and I have been unsuccessful in coming up with a good concluding story. Makes me feel a bit down and I’m not sure what to do about it, but I can’t let today go by without posting .  .  . so … Continue reading The End →

‘Mindfulness’ is kind of a buzzword these days. It is a technique for slowing down, being in the present moment, paying attention to what is going on inside and around you. Last month I tripped while hiking and fell hard, straight forward onto my hands, slamming my chest and forehead. Nothing was broken but my ribcage … Continue reading A Mindful Christmas →

It was an extra-heavy trash bag, due to the many notebooks I threw away, the journals of my three years in Ethiopia. I had perused them, retrieved some bits, and all the rest was thrown away, and I am relieved. Page after page in those notebooks recorded irritation, grumbling, criticism, and demands.  Kinda sickening. Why … Continue reading God Most Patient →

I am so glad that my dad had the idea some years back and asked me to do it --  to record my mother’s stories. It was a wonderful task, spending time with Mom and organizing some 40 stories into a beautiful blue book titled “Counting It All Joy.” It is one of the treasures … Continue reading “Counting It All Joy” →