More Slices of Life – TheWelcomeHome

The Gathering

The gathering happened and afterward I returned home again to my warm, comfortable, familiar, safe haven. Now, nearly two weeks later, I look back with heartfelt gratefulness. It was such a stretch for me, but I’m so glad I met the people I did and am thankful for the...

Devotionals More Slices of Life

Your Sphere of Influence

Your sphere of influence is broader than your sphere of acquaintance… have you ever stopped to think about that? Maybe you have never given much personal thought to the influence of your own life; maybe you think your mundane life, your seemingly menial work, doesn’t have much impact around...

More Slices of Life my story

Jumping Off The High Dive

Now, many decades ago, I climbed the steep steps up to the high dive at our local community pool in Southern California where I was raised. I’d been swimming most all my life (it was a given that most all the homes had a swimming pool) and from a...

Journal More Slices of Life Morning Coffee ☕

Drawing a blank

Those shots are blanks. They roar at us or past us, but they're blanks. God's mercies are new every morning and His faithfulness is above the heavens. I may feel wounded by the shots of those blanks, but I mustn't think they'll destroy me -- I must take those...

More Slices of Life my story Suicide

the suicide option

Through our lives we have experiences that are etched on our hearts and minds — experiences that shape our thinking, shape our reactions, shape our responses, shape our decisions — maybe even shape our initial theology or lack thereof. If these etchings were recorded on 3×5 cards, in time...

More Slices of Life Motherhood Potpourri

Seasons End In Various Stages Of Bloom

I’ve been mulling over the thought of seasons ending in various stages of bloom. It was below freezing through the night and this morning and as I look out the windows of my warm home, I see all around, summer is falling to the ground. The trees are losing...

Family More Slices of Life

Thousands of Pictures to Sort

I’m in the midst of an overwhelming project: I have thousands of pictures to sort. Earlier today I was standing next to a table lined with boxes into which I’m distributing the thousands of pictures. It never seemed like we took a lot of pictures. At the time. What...

Devotionals More Slices of Life

Daily Devotionals

Daily Devotionals: potentially instructive, potentially destructive. Isn’t it interesting what the Lord uses in our lives to speak to us? He speaks through His Word, He ministers to us through teaching, poetry, testimonies, music, His creation; He works in us through joys and sorrows, hardships, grief, loss, trials, and...

Faith More Slices of Life

…feelings in the spin cycle

Do you ever feel like your feelings or your emotions are in a spin cycle — as if life’s experiences or circumstances are spinning out all your feelings or emotions? Sometimes my washer spins so long I wonder how in the world there’s any moisture at all left in...

More Slices of Life Potpourri Society

Dark Days

In the wake of the breaking news stories in the last couple of days, it’s hard to fathom the depths of evil consuming our nation. The enormity of this may well be underestimated, and the trail of money on a spiraling street paved with innocent blood may well be...