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As autumn chills the air, my thoughts turn to food, not just the light salads and cold fruits of summer, but something more substantial. I bring out the slow cooker for hearty beef stews and savory chicken noodle soups. Flavorful ham hocks bring beans, lentils and split peas to life. I like to have a pot of chili and a loaf of hot bread ready at the first sign of snow. Spicy ginger cookies make a perfect companion to a hot cup of tea. One of my fondest memories of going to sch...
Mele had always been some mythical character in the far distant past. I’d heard bits and pieces of her story from family members. Her mother’s name was High Feather, or maybe Little Feather; no one knew for sure. She was part of the Ponca Tribe and may have been raised by the Sioux. Her father, a French trapper with a roguish reputation, had traded her off to a man in payment of a gambling debt. Her daughter, one of eleven children, had married my great grandfather. I did not...
After years of wondering and months of searching, my husband held her phone number in his hands; he paced the room, wondering what to do. What if she didn’t want to talk to him? He did not want to complicate her life; he just wanted to know his natural mother. After his adoptive dad died and his mother lived in a nursing home, a man gave him the name of the doctor who had delivered him forty years earlier. The doctor, who had lived only three houses down from him his entire l...
Spring’s glorious production opens with a chorus of geese flying north, in perfect V formation, over melting ponds and running streams breaking free from their icy strongholds. Mallards quack to each other in sharp staccato tones as they establish mates and nesting sites. Gulls quibble in high pitched notes as they vie for morsels shared by sun-seeking humans. Red-breasted robins arrive, adding their melodic songs to that of the chickadees, sparrows, jays, starlings and r...
8! Twenty fifteen sounds like the title of a sci-fi movie. Sometimes I feel like I am living in the middle of such an epoch. Every day, advances in technology expand way beyond my understanding. On some days I shun the newest and latest gadget simply because I cannot allow one more thing to direct my day from some unseen cloud. (My e-mails keep asking if I want to connect with the cloud. I keep telling it to leave me alone; I just want to stay here on earth.) I rejoice...
I grew up on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, not because I am Arapahoe or Shoshone (I am actually part Ponca), but because our doctor in Denver told my parents that my brother needed to live on a farm. Mom had several cousins living there so that is where we went. I am not sure of the doctor’s wisdom; my mother went from a house in Denver with all of its amenities to a house in Wyoming with no running water. I appreciate my childhood; I met wonderful friends, but as I l...
As summer turns to autumn, shorter days and crisp air stir up visions of hearty soups and crusty homemade bread. It won’t be long before the holidays give me a good excuse to bake a spicy dessert or savor a mug of hot chocolate. Our Creator not only gave us an abundant variety of foods but He included the taste buds to enjoy them. According to Wikipedia, “taste is the sensation produced when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor cells located on tas...
I ducked under the eaves, lingering to hear the rhythm of a gentle rain as a chickadee called from a nearby lilac bush and a chipmunk scampered from the bird feeder. Quiet, simple sounds; yet profound. If you haven’t done your morning exercises, I invite you to try this. Sit in as much silence as possible; then, listen and identify what you hear. (This is my kind of exercise!) How many different sounds do you hear? Nature covers our sound canvas like the artist’s initial was...
Have you ever wondered how our eyes see and how our brains make sense of it all? I like to ponder such questions, especially if I am discouraged. When my faith begins to wobble, because of one circumstance or another, I like to focus on God’s marvelous creation. A sense of calm steadies my uncertainty. Our brains are even able to bring back recordings of previous sight adventures to use at a moment’s notice. (This is an amazing miracle in itself.) As I am writing this, I see...
If I only had one more opportunity to communicate to our readers (and I hope this is not my last article), what would I want to say? There is only one foundational truth that makes life worth living and that is GOD LOVES YOU. Personally, I struggle with such a truth. I can explain it in my head; I know lots of Scriptures to put with it and I've heard dozens of sermons on it yet this truth often loses its way on the path from my head to my heart. I think of my failures and all...
What if the Bible is true? That question runs through my mind constantly as I listen and watch the world around me, and in the age of technology, that is quite a large world. I can’t get away from the question. There is an actual pain near my heart as I listen to the news media and watch the entertainment industry proclaim values different from God’s Word. I hear the Deceiver’s voice as they proclaim a false love for God and humanity. I picture a large rowboat filled with...
Wes and I are enjoying retirement. We moved out of the Toronto area, and, though I miss good friends, I don’t miss the traffic and incessant roar of the city. I enjoy a quieter, slower pace now; trees fill my vista instead of high rises and aggressive vehicles. I hope I am still as enthused with my new surroundings in January. I am sorting through boxes to find our heavy coats. This summer, we spent time visiting family and renewing old friendships. I heard many stories and n...
There is no earthly treasure, human accomplishment, or enthralling romance that can compare with the joy of walking with our Creator. No money can buy His presence or His friendship. No cultural or religious tradition can compare with His truth and authority. He is, after all, the Creator of the universe. I finally finished my book, Walking with the Creator Along the Narrow Road (available through Indian Life). I worked on it for 20 years. I started out writing some...
Each one of us has positive and negative factors that shape our lives—age, gender, health, appearance, personality, families, national cultures, religious backgrounds, finances, and education, to name a few. Each of us functions within these. The Creator of the universe wants us to use these temporary variables; yet, He invites us to live beyond them. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to know Jesus. For decades, I knew that the Bible was true and that Jesus was the So...
My husband is retiring in a few weeks. We sold our home and purchased a truck and fifth wheel. We plan to take a few months to visit family and friends and volunteer at Eagles’ Cove Ministry Centre near Thunder Bay, Ontario. I am looking forward to seeing people we have known over the years, and this time we don’t have to rush back to work. I am sorting and packing. Yesterday I looked back through decades of journals and read an English essay I wrote when I was 16. The ess...
Many people know the story of Chief Standing Bear. Books have been written and movies made about his story and that of the Ponca Tribe. I am not writing this story to open up old wounds or stir up resentment towards nationalities or governments. I am writing it because Standing Bear’s story inspires me to walk with God—no matter what. The U.S. government had taken his land in South Dakota (now northern Nebraska) and forced his people to travel to Oklahoma. Many died from mal...
Since the surgery on my spine, walking and balancing on uneven surfaces present more challenges for me than usual. This is important information for you to fully comprehend my recent terror in the shower. I adjusted the temperature before grabbing the tub handle. Easing my legs over the unusually high bathtub, I adjusted my stance to steady myself in the contours of the tub while maintaining the right spot in the water. I turned and spied a large black spider folding itself...
Have you ever wondered how your brain works? How do brains make sense of the vibrations passing through the ears? How can it translate so many consonants and vowels, stops and starts, and decipher the meaning of in-coming communication? How do brains retrieve what the eyes see? (And how in the world do eyes see?) The brain assigns meaning to shapes, colors, textures, and designs. It perceives nuances in facial expressions and reads another’s eyes to interpret meaning that w...
Beautiful Christmas cards portray Mary and Joseph keeping watch over their tiny baby in the manger. Can you imagine how Mary felt as she held her soft, squirming infant in her arms, shielding Him from the cold night air? She must have marveled at His tiny fingers and toes and stroked His soft dark hair as He nursed. Carolers and congregations sing melodic songs like Joy to the World and talented choirs hail the majestic Hallelujah Chorus, but who is this baby who inspires...
Two space probes, Voyagers 1 and 2, began their long journey across our solar system 35 years ago. They sent back images and information never before seen or imagined. Scientists not only saw Jupiter’s huge red spot up close, but they watched a volcano exploding on Jupiter’s moon Io. The spacecraft revealed icy details of Saturn’s rings and discovered atmosphere on Titan, one of Saturn’s moons. Voyager 2 relayed the sight of geysers erupting on Neptune’s moon, Triton. V...
