Our showdown with life
"She lays all her cards on the table in her personal showdown with life." My good friend and acclaimed writer, Lee Walburn, was gracious...
Between the outhouse and the cherry tree
Her home once sat on a large plot three concrete steps up from street level in the small town of Monterey, Tennessee. It looked...
The power that lies within us
Power resides in us that I doubt we use as much as we should. It is simple to implement, but we often only hesitate...
The unsinkable Mollie Sparks
Mollie Sparks was born amid the hardwood trees in Putnam County, Tennessee, on December 5, 1876. Her family came to America in 1669 and...
The value of numbered days
She jumped out of her stroller and ran into my arms once she saw me. I swooped the toddler up and held her tight...
The music just beyond the doors
Shortly before my mother passed away, she described a vivid dream she experienced one night that prepared us both for what was to come.
In...
What is lost can be found
I feel lost every year after Santa flies back to the North Pole. So much planning, preparing, and praying goes into Christmas, that it...
‘Twas the day after Christmas
I think I am still here. I can't feel my feet, and my eyes are about closed, but yes, I just hit myself with...
Finding the Child under the Star
On Christmas morning, children everywhere will awaken to the day's wonder. The long-anticipated holiday when wishes come true and gifts are revealed. Parents and...
Here comes Santa Claus!!
When I was small, I loved watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television. As the bands and floats passed, I squirmed with anticipation, hoping...
The magic of the bride doll
We all recall those Christmas mornings when Santa surprised us with the bike we wanted or the music box we didn't ask for but...
“But Mama, it’s Christmas!”
Precisely nine months and two days after Christmas, I came into the world with a birthmark on my arm of a three-inch Christmas tree.
"You...