Category: Life Inspiration
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Harness the Power of a Single Word
You’ve heard of choosing a word-of-the-year. Popular ones might be abundance, joy, or simplicity. If you’ve ever tried it, you know how difficult it can be just to decide which word to choose. I was thinking all this last January and feeling like the decision was too heavy. On impulse, I said maybe I’d just…
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It Takes a Village to Raise a Teacher
After almost nine years away from teaching I went back to teach music at the same school I went to all those years ago. It was a strange sense of Deja vu walking the same halls I went to all 8 years of my formal education. I taught the upper grade classroom for 3 years…
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How to Make the Most of Summer
It’s already midafternoon of a lovely July day. Summer expands in all directions and holds us in her heart. I wanted to write early this morning. I had plans for a thoughtful article on slowing down and savoring the summer days ahead. But first I needed to set the clothes washer going and sit down…
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What’s Saving Your Summer?
Ah summer… It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Long days of sun and water. Sleeping until mid-morning. Reading whole books in one day. Weeding gardens in the hottest part of the day. Playing with kittens in the dappled shade. Hamburger fries and watermelon. Hot dogs and s’mores. Friends and family. But, what if…
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Keep Your Love On
Danny Silk, 2013 Connection, Communication and Boundaries Keep Your Love On explains how you can manage yourself and so build connection with other people. This book was recommended to me from a teacher at Raising Hope Ranch. This book is different from most relationship books I have read. It has a Christian perspective, but doesn’t…
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We Need You, Teachers
We need you, teachers. Who else is going to teach our children the three Rs with such enthusiasm? Certainly not the moms! We tried that during c***d, and no one wants to go back. Plus, you all do such a great work! It’s summertime and you may not feel like being bothered with saying yes…
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The Tornado
Now summer was here. The weather was very hot. Heat waves rose from the pasture. Every pig lay in the mud hole. They would not get out till evening. The dog would not leave the shade of the cottonwood. I didn’t move either, except to turn the pages of the book in my hand or…
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The Ideal Life
Remember those pictures of pastoral beauty with farms dotting the countryside in every Ideals? Small (by today’s standards) silos proudly watch over the farmstead. Trees mark yards and creeks. Roads with miniscule tractors and pickups forever driving on them… All the crops are growing… Rivers wind through the countryside…. Farmyards are mowed and trimmed… The…
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Come Go Along to Bible School
Last Sunday evening I attended a Vacation Bible School Rally. About ten people were asked to bring memories, songs or Bible verses from their Bible School days. We sang out of VBS songbooks, including a round song. There was time for volunteers to bring memories or thoughts. Some encouraged the ones who would be attending…
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Home
Penny Parkes, 2021 Fiction Anna Wilson is a professional housesitter. She steps into people’s lives watching their houses, pets and occasionally their neighbors. All she really wants is a home of her own. One filled with love and laughter and happy memories. She grew up in foster care so she doesn’t have a baseline to…
So She Reads 