We’ve entered May, which means it’s the time of year to celebrate mothers. I consider myself lucky to have a mother worth celebrating indeed.

When you get to be an adult, you realize that mom is your silent supporter. When other friends and adults would have turned away in frustration with your repetition of woes and problems, mom is always there. And mom is known for her advice.

I learned a lot of things from my mom. “To always have class” whenever you are unsure of what to do in a situation – what to wear, how to behave, etc.  Always err on the side of having class. Continue reading…

Today, for your reading enjoyment, I’d like to share:

 20 Weird Things About Americans

Not sure who the author is, or I’d be glad to give them credit, but this is a pretty good list (apologies for mild language on #8).

Off the top of my head, here are a few others:

Everything is over air-conditioned. In other countries, air-conditioned means “around 80 degrees.” In other words, just take the edge off. In America, everything is chilled in the summer like the inside of an icebox – a brisk 65-68 degrees. Continue reading…

An avid book lover, I’m often asked for – and interested in – good book recommendations. I decided to make a list, once and for all of the top 5 Christian books that have changed my life (other than the Bible). I’ve read a lot of good books, so this was hard. Being a book lover, there were a few ties.

Some of these are contemporary and some oldies but goodies:

1. C.S. Lewis: Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters. OK, this was a tie, because I love C.S. Lewis and each book had equal impact. Mere Christianity showed me the beauty of apologetics and explaining the basics of the faith in a straightforward, philosophical way, while The Screwtape Letters is an exercise in creative thinking – specifically, looking at the great battle of daily life from the perspective of the enemy.

2. Donald Miller: Searching for God Knows What and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. One of my favorite authors, this was also a tie. Mille is most famous for Blue Like Jazz and his modern Storyline. His writing is personal, honest and thought-provoking – three important qualities for any modern author. Always stimulating but never scholarly or preachy, finishing one of Miller’s books makes you feel like you just finished a conversation with a friend.

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If you had to pick just one, would you rather be brave, honest, smart, kind or selfless? Seriously – just one of the above for the rest of your days?

In a nutshell, that’s the question the movie “Divergent” asks, based on author Veronica Roth’s best-selling trilogy.

It’s an interesting concept. The movie’s characters in this young-adult dystopian society live in the city of Chicago made of “factions” – Dauntless (bravery), Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Erudite (knowledge) and Amity (kindness/peace) – and are not allowed to cross their faction’s borders. Each faction is given a role in helping the city succeed, and – as the teenage characters are told, “faction comes before family.”

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I usually don’t delve into Biblical prophecy, but being the daughter of an astronomy buff, I found myself wrapped up in the book Four Blood Moons, by John Hagee.

The book takes its name from the prophecy in Joel 2:30:

“The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.”

A “blood moon,” or red moon is rare, but the appearance of a series of four blood moons (a tetrad) is very rare. Even more rare is a series of four blood moons that include a total solar eclipse – turning both “the sun to darkness” and “the moon to blood” within the same series.
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I went to see Noah this weekend, and given the flood of controversy surrounding the film, I thought I’d offer my thoughts. I had to convince (beg) my movie guest to see it with me, as she was one of the many made skeptical by the media surrounding the film. I was too, but I guess you could say curiosity got to me.

Short review: “Stimulating” might be the best word to describe it. The criticism from early reviewers over artistic license has merit, but I was pleasantly surprised in several areas. I was neither offended, nor can I give a genuine endorsement without an (*) asterisk.

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November is upon us again, which would usually mean a trip to Alabama to see my grandmother Carlean. My grandmother and I have always had a special relationship. If you missed last November’s Turkeys and Banjos post, you can read it here.

She turned 89 a little while ago, sailing through the birthday in good health. This would be short-lived, however, as she came down with a serious infection that landed her in the hospital about a month later.

I’m sad to say that Carlean left us on Friday. She passed away in the same placid, peaceful state as the leaves fluttering from the nearby trees. She was my last remaining grandparent.

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I know, I know. By now you’re probably really tired of these words. You’ve no doubt seen the headlines by now for the “What’s Your Excuse?” fit mom, Maria Kang, posing over her three small children.

There was an instant outcry across the country, especially from moms calling Kang everything from an inspiration to a poser and a bully.

(A bully? Really? For posting a photo of herself?)

There is real bullying in the world, and I’m not sure if posting a generic photo online deserves to send people into “victim” mode.

Kang claims the photo was meant to motivate and inspire others. Harassed moms claim it was deliberately insulting and smug.

The fact is, there is probably truth on both sides. Continue reading…

In all of Christendom, perhaps nothing is a as simple or as complex as faith. There is a vast amount of belief and purpose summed up in that one tiny word.

I used to think I knew a lot about faith – after all, I had faith, and it had been a familiar concept throughout my childhood. I met people who didn’t have faith…and that taught me a lot about faith too.

And yet for all I thought I knew about faith, events of the past year or two have taught me an important lesson. In fact, somewhere along the last 10 years, faith became a spiritual gift of mine (according to my spiritual gifts test…if you believe those type of things). Continue reading…

If you’re like me, a trip to the mailbox most days includes the occasional invite to an engagement party, wedding or baby shower.

I have a question for you – when such an invitation arrives in your mailbox, do you immediately start thinking of reasons you can go, or scan the invitation for details looking for excuses not to go?

I’m writing this because I think it’s one of the unspoken social tragedies of our generation – the failure of the RSVP and dwindling attendance at weddings, showers and other milestone moments.

I’ve heard the stories over and over again – the bride and groom who reserved a nice chapel only to have 2/3 of the church empty. The roommate trying to plan a baby shower for a friend, only to have four of the 30 people invited RSVP by the deadline. The wife trying to plan a surprise 40^th birthday party for her husband who had 6 of the 10 guests bail out the day of because “something came up,” leaving a hot dinner and no one to eat it.

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