Life by Grace Alone

I think I probably met Trudi sometime before I heard that she was trying to start a women's retreat for  the New England Presbytery. Trudi hunted and hunted until she found a retreat site in Massachusetts. I'm not sure when the idea entered my head to volunteer to be a workshop speaker. The topic of friendship seemed to be a natural and fortunately I had discovered a book that covered the important Biblical principles on the subject of friendship. I was one of the "insiders" as Trudi began to do an amazing job of organizing everything about how the retreats would function. She with a few other women worked on registration procedures and many other details. We were blessed to have a woman in our presbytery who was a gifted speaker. It didn't take long before it was obvious that the retreat was a success. It has continued to happen every year. Trudi years ago ceased to have an active role. Recently I heard that she died. I'm sure she was delighted to go even t...

Frederick Henry Doe was a man so loved and respected, people throughout his family have used the name Frederick whenever it was reasonably possible sometimes as a first name other times as a middle name. My daughter is going to have a boy in September. Giving the name Frederick a rest, this baby will be named Henry. The passage of time does not seem to dim the impact this quiet strong man had on those around him. Nine years before F.H. Doe died, my husband, the youngest son put into words what his father meant to him. With Steve's permission I would like to share with you what he wrote. In the land where I live the word "father" breeds dreams, dreams that twist and stir within. Dreams of voids, of fathers long absent, of silent, stony men. Dreams of words and looks to kill the spirit, or dreams too dark to speak. But, there is for me, joy in that word. "Father is a surveyor and engineer with a slide r...