Columns & Editorials

The Ecclesiastes Woman
The Ecclesiastes Woman

The Ecclesiastes Woman

Proverbs lays it out well for us gals, the gold standard description for what a good woman should be. That woman is worth more than diamonds. She knits. She’s organized. She has gumption. She’s creative. She’s insanely intelligent, yet kind. She elevates her husband. She nurtures her children. She creates wealth. She is beautiful, not because of how she looks, but because of how she has aligned her heart to God. I love everything about this woman. I do find the pedestal she stands on to be surrounded by very steep steps. While the things we aspire to are meant to be difficult in terms of acquisition, my frustration, nonetheless, still mounts. Did this Proverbs woman ever lose a child, I wonder? Did she fight Stage 3 cancer? Ever lose a breast? Ever have a car repossessed? Suffer a home foreclosure? Feel like the days were dark and the nights too long? Of course, she did, I reason with myself. She did all of this in biblical days, bereft of things like electricity, modern medicine, and Walmart. Still, I believe that the best way to get from the basement to the roof is to journey in increments. First, I gotta climb up to the kitchen level. Then, once I’ve acclimated, I can shoot for the second-floor bedroom. Finally, I can find the roof. So, on the way to the Proverbs woman, might I introduce you to a really sweet lady I met in Ecclesiastes?

What Is Love?

“I think love is being kind, helpful and caring for others,” says Patrick, 7. “I once showed love for my mom when I agreed to go to her favorite restaurant after I tasted their food.”

The Perks of Playing Bingo
The Perks of Playing Bingo

The Perks of Playing Bingo

By the time you read this, it will be shockingly close to Christmas. I hope some things have come to fruition by then. I hope I’m finished Christmas shopping. I hope I’ve figured out a solid porch decoration plan. Lord knows the things I envisioned haven’t developed accordingly. I hope the new kitten has allowed the main Christmas tree to remain in an upright position. Phoebe is, clearly, part owl, choosing to roost among the plastic- coated branches. I hope the world has slowed its spin just a touch. This time of year tends to be a holiday version of that dreaded 70s metal merry-go-round, the one that made us all puke if we closed our eyes while some older kid did the spinning. I hope I will have taken some time to do the things that keep me sane: watch The Family Stone while snuggling with an entire box of tissue, make chocolate candy but not eat any, and surrender myself into a chapter of Luke each day. These things are good for my soul, like chicken soup for a small-town granny’s heart. If today is any predictor, I am on the right track.

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