Life by Grace Alone

When our four were small we quickly established traditions around our Christmas tree. Every year  my husband Steve with our children who were old enough would leave for the nearest tree farm to choose the tree that would be the focal point at our house in December. I would listen to Christmas music as I did some Christmas baking..The children would return often with ruddy cheeks and icy fingers and filled with excitement after their mission now accomplished. All 4 grandparents were alive and there were ornaments that reminded us of them. Over the years ornate and store bought, as well as plain and home made ornaments were added to the collection. Our 2 moms loved birds and so we have some bird ornaments. I was attracted to sheep and so every time I found a sheep ornament I considered adding it to our  collection. As the children entered their teen years many things crowded out the traditions of their youth. The job of hanging the ornaments gradually became more and more my j...

On 4/7/12  I posted a piece about my grandson, Henry who had surgery for hydrocephalis at 7 months of age. I was amazed how God used a simple song about a simple truth to calm . baby,mother and grandmother. The song clearly declares God's greatness and strength as well as His sovereignty over all of  His creation in the typical repetitive language of a children's song. Henry had his surgery and shunts were not needed. He is now 4 and a member of  a tae kwon do class. Although every test has looked good for Henry he is behind in the area of balance. Shortly after enrolling in the class Henry was painfully aware of  the things the other kids could do that he couldn't. The combination of encouragement from the staff as well as Henry's tenacity has produced wonderful results. The other day Henry proudly showed me kicks alternating with forward jumps. His ability to balance has noticeably improved,  Three years and a few months have passed by and now Henry's sist...

I just finished writing a piece on my friend Trudi Rockey who died at 91. She graduated from Cornell University with a major in chemistry. When she married a widowed pastor with 3 children, Trudi had a job that paid very well as she supervised engineers. Travel to Europe  and New England ski trips were normal parts of her life. Let's see. My friend was very intelligent with a scientific mind. She had proven leadership skills. What do you think people would remember most about  this pastor's wife ? Yes, people remembered her as a good Bible study leader and the driving force behind the women's conference. What seemed to make the biggest impression on people was how warmly she greeted those she just met as well as those she already knew. This was a an always present theme as I questioned people about her.  She did not just go through the motions. Trudi focused on what a person was saying to her. One family that was moving to the area talked to her after church one Sund...

Most Christians at some point in their lives have experienced fear and guilt at the very thought of evangelism. Guilt comes from the often held view that others will go to hell because the Christian has failed to witness to the people around them. There are many causes for our fear. We fear a bad reaction from the people we talk to. We are afraid we won't give a good presentation of all of the gospel message. My husband has been a pastor since 1976. Over the years we have  discussed these issues many times. One of most important things every Christian should remember is who they are in God's plan of redemption. I have a brother and a son who love fishing. Often I have been amazed at the many times one or the other would come back with nothing but stories about the ones that got away. In spite of their failures they expressed a great pleasure in what seemed like a nonproductive activity. Recently I heard someone express that fishing is called that for a reason. It is not calle...

Every woman has at one time or another cringed at the the thought of the biblical idea of submission. Thousands of women have made sure that the concept does not appear in their marriage ceremony. Those of us who come from a more conservative perspective allow the concept but are still uneasy about how to live out the reality. Perhaps part of the problem is that we tend to regard submission as just a matter of the right attitude on the part of the wife. Obviously that's part of it but only part of it. Jesus submitted to the will of  His father. The creator of all things also submitted himself  to sinful earthly authorities. In Ephesians 5 and 6. Paul talks about wives submitting to their husbands,bond servants obeying their earthly masters, and children obeying parents. If you aren't submitting to someone now, just look to the past, or peer into the near future. Submission is part of everyone's life. All Christians , male and female have to follow Jesus as we submit to G...

Have you ever thought about all the relatives who have gone before you who at least in some small way have helped to form who you are today? Of course we can not know for sure how much impact these people have had on our lives. My maternal grandmother was dearly loved by my whole family. We knew at 93 she wouldn't live much longer. In spite of her poor hearing and frail frame she enjoyed so much being around family and friends. It was hard to imagine her no longer being with us. On my mother's birthday in my grandmother's 93rd year Grandmom went to the hospital where she died about 2 days later. The year was 1973. I do not remember my age when Carrie Parsons, my Grandmom ushered me into her sewing room and half apologetically shared with me the story about the worn quilt she had draped over her lap. She had been 6 years old when company was expected. In order to insure fewer complications in the preparations,my great grandmother, Matilda Bailey offered her daughter Carri...

Ava Camille Lamson  was born at 11:30 pm on March 13. You might at first wonder if  her name has anything to do with old movie stars like Ava Gardner or perhaps it's an old family name. If you had guessed either one of these, you would have been wrong. Ava is a variation of the name Eve which means life.  Ava's parents had 2 marvelous, complex, beautiful children. In addition to this girl and boy there were 2 children who never lived into the second trimester of their mother's pregnancy. Henry and Grace are the 2 oldest survivors and they always. leave visible reminders of their presence, legos, Marvel posters, and Thomas the tank engine train tracks. The two who did not make it left invisible scars on the couple who will never know what it would mean to parent these children. Jessica's first pregnancy produced a lively girl. The second pregnancy ended in tears and unanswered questions. Pregnancy number 3 produced  a larger than life all boy bundle of energy and su...

I wrote this piece years ago. When I read it recently I realized a word of explanation is needed. The words chastity and chaste come from a Latin word that means pure. Today we have misused the word and now it is used  interchangeably with the word abstinence. My intention was to discuss chastity based more on its Latin origin. Our attitude towards sex can be an indicator of how much we value the purity of our hearts as we approach many areas of our lives. Abstaining from sex? Oh, that's like the usual American diet, isn't it? You know,when you eat broccoli and keep your hand off pizza and french fries, You hope that abstaining from the usual goodies will be worth the sacrifice. Abstaining from sex must mean closing your eyes to all the temptations around you and hoping that your self control lasts long enough for  you to meet Miss.or Mr. Right. Isn't there a better way to deal with sexual temptations until your wedding day? Yes there is.It's call chastity. Abstin...

We took our eldest to dinner for a belated birthday meal. All 4 of our children are full grown.  All these many years have done little to dull the memory of anticipating the arrival of our four, two by adoption and two home grown. The story of each child as he or she entered our family is unique but each story  is marked by joy and thanksgiving as we watched the work of God. My eldest son's birthday reminded me of the letter I intended to write to 2 of our children  a couple of  years ago. I was at a retreat on prayer. One of  the workshops had us write down some of our prayer requests over the years. One of mine was that I would overcome my infertility. We were still childless after 7 years of marriage. After stating  the prayer request I had over 30 years ago, I immediately started to write that the adoption of our two oldest  was the answer to this prayer.  It suddenly struck me that after we had our 2 adopted children I was still infertile. ...