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How did I end up living a thousand miles from my son, Snow Cloud? He's a long-haul truck driver, driving a giant sixteen wheeler, delivering freight from Texas to Maine. He loves his job but I'm lucky to see him once a year. I knew I'd be alone at Christmas, and I was feeling very sorry for myself. I packed boxes to mail to my daughter in Hawaii and my son in Australia-my children live across the ocean. I live in Seattle; Snow Cloud will be on the opposite coast. I mailed a...
Some people love exploring caves. They crawl deep inside the dark holes and maybe see things no human has ever seen before. There are 50,000 known caves in the US and probably a million no one has discovered yet. Every year dozens of people crawl into caves and over a hundred die from falling or lack of air or they drown or get lost. I'm afraid of caves. Unfortunately, our farm had a cave. I went into it a couple of times but was terrified. I told my children they could never...
God created the Earth and everything in it, and He put Adam in charge. Apparently, the millions of animals had mates, but Adam did not have a mate. In Genesis 2:18, God said, "It is not good that man should be alone, I will make him a help mate for him." And God created Eve, and we all know what happened next. God didn't mean for us to be alone, and yet, because people are living longer than ever, they end up outliving their mates by eight to ten years and spend their old age...
All the animals and creatures in the forest were happy. Except one. The Koga bird was the most beautiful bird that had ever existed-it was pure white; it had magnificent wings and long white feathers on its tail. When it flew overhead, all the creatures looked up at the Koga bird. It was such a pure white that tears would come to their eyes, and they would have to blink not to be overwhelmed by the magnificent bird. Koga knew he was the most magnificent creature ever made....
It was such a sad day. Our beloved choir leader had died suddenly from a heart attack and now the church was packed with church members, family and friends for his funeral and to say our last goodbye. Jeff had been our choir leader for twenty years and was loved by everyone. He always had a smile and a word of encouragement. He could never be replaced, but of course the church would hire a new choir leader but no one could ever replace Jeff. Tears flowed like fountains, and I...
The phrase "Fear not" appears in the Bible many times. It is strange that God has to remind us constantly not to be afraid. The Almighty God of the Universe loves us, and yet we are constantly afraid of a thousand things that might or might not happen. We need constant assurance that God loves us and is watching over us. When my children were small, I often held them on my lap and read the Bible to them. We lived on a farm in Oklahoma, and there were thunderstorms and tornadoe...
The very word "Christmas" either brings a smile to our faces or stabs our hearts with a sword. It is both the best time and the worst time of the year. If we are fortunate enough to spend Christmas with family, friends, loved ones, then it is the happiest time of the year. If we are alone, it is the worst time of the year. My children live thousands of miles away. Sadly, most of my close friends have died. I was facing another Christmas alone. I spent last Christmas alone and...
Life is so simple when you are a child. I remember when my three year old son thought his four year old brother knew everything in the world-after all, his brother was a year older and more experienced. "Adam and Eve were the first people," my four year old said. "And then Jesus was born, and then you and I were born." "Was anyone born between when Jesus was born and when we were born?" my three year old asked his brother. My four year old thought about it a second and then...
In the 1950s, I watched movies in which Roy Rogers chased outlaws who stole cattle and robbed banks. Of course, the bad guys were always caught and hanging their heads in shame as they were tied up and taken to jail. The good guys always won, and the bad guys always lost. I was always the "good little girl." I drank my milk, cleaned my plate, put my toys away and tried to obey all of the adults in my life. I was a shy, quiet, only child and always did as I was told. When I...
I was at an engagement party for friends of a friend. I didn't know the couple and was caught by surprise when I was asked to make a toast. I lifted my glass of punch and said, "May you always steal, lie and cheat . . . " The bride-to-be slammed down her glass and rushed out of the room, followed by the groom-to- be. The mother-in-law to-be put down her glass and left the room. People stared at me. "I wasn't finished yet . . . " I explained. "The toast is supposed to be, may...
When I was a teenager and had my first job, I lived in a motel that charged $1 a day. I had a mean boss and hated my job, and when I went home to my motel room, I was so afraid I'd push furniture in front of my door. I mostly lived on cereal or ketchup I'd pour into boiling water and pretend it was tomato soup. I got fired from my job and only had ten dollars in the world. I didn't know how I'd pay my rent or buy food. There was no one who would help me. While I was walking...
A young Kiowa brave stood quietly in the midst of blackberry bushes and waited for a giant elk to approach him. "Welcome, my brother," the brave, named Broken Face, reached out his hand and stroked the neck of the elk. "And how is Bear Killer on this fine day?" The elk snorted and shook his mighty antlers. When the elk had been young, he had been attacked by a bear. The bear had raked the elk's hide with his sharp claws, leaving scars that still showed after ten years. The str...
Nothing brings up memories like Christmas. The good, the bad and the ugly-our favorite Christmas and our worst Christmas. People want to be happy at Christmas. They smile more and laugh more-even carols say, "Joy to the World" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." When my children were small, every Christmas was magically filled with love and laughter and gifts and toys and food and friends. We celebrated Thanksgiving by putting up our Christmas tree and decorating...
The Bible mentions honey 61 times and it mentions bees 7 times. The Lord promises people they can dwell in the land of milk and honey, which sounds like a wonderful thing. Archaeologists have found written records of honey several thousands of years old. They've also actually found jars of honey in Egypt that were 3,000 years old and they ate some. They said the 3,000-year-old honey was as fresh and delicious as new honey. Apparently honey is the only food in the world that...
There was a man named "Regret." His mother died giving him birth and the only word she said when he was born was "Regret." His father blamed the boy for causing his wife's death and said his mother regretted giving him birth. When he was only a few days old, his father gave the boy to an aunt to raise-he was never loved and was mistreated by everyone; he was the boy who "killed his mother." When he was fifteen he ran away and worked at whatever jobs he could get, he was often...
Una was a beautiful Cherokee girl. Her name meant "Remember," and she did remember the smallest details of not only her own life, but the details of those who lived in the green valley that had been the home of the Cherokee since the beginning of time. Una remembered all the battles and births and deaths. She remembered the best and the worst of times. She remembered everything. Una was smaller than the other girls her age, and she had beautiful hair that hung to her waist....
My daughter, Storm, has an incredible memory. She can remember everything I ever did that was wrong. Recently she reminded me of an incident that happened when she was a teenager. It was late at night and I remembered I needed some cash for something I had to do the next morning. I didn't want to drive to the bank alone to use the ATM machine so asked my daughter to go with me. She was ready for bed, wearing pajamas with cows jumping over the moon printed on them and house...
There is an old saying: "It's better to wear moccasins than to try to carpet the world." In other words, take care of yourself and your own life before you try to change the world. When my friends are unhappy, I want to fly in like superman and "fix" things and make them happy. Sadly, in my efforts to "help," I sometimes made things worse by interfering. I didn't realize this until a friend of mine decided I would be much better off living close to her. She contacted realtors,...
OK, Scrooge didn't save the world but it is hard to think of Christmas without thinking about Scrooge. In 1843, Charles Dickens didn't realize when he wrote "A Christmas Carol" that 175 years later people would still love the story. We can sympathize with Scrooge, he had a horrible childhood, he was orphaned, his sister died, he lost the woman he loved . . . we can understand why he turned into a bitter, miser who only loved money. Then comes redemption. He changes, he has a...
Una was a beautiful Cherokee girl. Her name meant "Remember," and she did remember the smallest details of not only her own life, but the details of those who lived in the green valley that had been the home of the Cherokee since the beginning of time. Una remembered all the battles and births and deaths; she remembered the best and the worst of times. She remembered everything. Una was smaller than the other girls her age and she had beautiful hair that hung to her waist....
I've always been in love with the moon. I couldn't count the hours I've spent looking at the moon, it could be tens of thousands. I've watched the moon all my life. When I was a young girl and saw the New Moon, I would say, "New Moon, New Moon, pray tell me, who my own true love will be. The color of his hair, the clothes he will wear and the happy day he'll wed me." Before going to bed, I'd "dip" my pillow in the moonlight shining through the window so I would have sweet...
Silver Horns was a strong and mighty Elk. There was not another Elk in the high mountains that was even half his size. His antlers were huge. They were four feet high and had twelve points and were as thick as a young sapling. He was proud of his antlers and polished them on the trunks of trees until they shined like silver in the sunlight. Silver Horns had over a hundred cows in his herd, and with luck, they would all have calves just before summer and his herd would double i...
When I was five years old, my twelve-year-old cousin, who was a bully and who teased and tormented me without mercy, pushed me into the river. I couldn't swim and would have drowned but a man who was fishing nearby saw what happened, jumped into the river and saved me. This left me with a life long fear of water. When I was eight-years-old, I was in a car with three uncles and two aunts. We were on a country road, and as we crossed an old wooden bridge, the bridge collapsed...
When I was young, I spent many years volunteering at a Navajo Indian Mission in New Mexico. It was one of the happiest and most rewarding times of my life. At times it was also frustrating and heart breaking. The missionaries were good people but after 20 years they still struggled with the Navajo language and culture. They were becoming tired and burned out. Everyone is familiar with the "mission barrels." Well-meaning people all over the world send used clothing and...
I saw my neighbor, Rose, walking to her mailbox and hurried to catch up with her. Rose and I were "friendly" but not "friends." We didn't visit each other but we'd talk a few minutes if we met at the mailbox. "Hi, Rose. I haven't seen you for a while. How are you?" I asked. When you ask people how they are, they usually say, "I'm fine." Except that isn't what she said. "My hair is getting thin. My eyes are bad, and I need new glasses but I can't afford them. My hearing is gett...
