Who me?
Well, it’s happened. I’ve been officially labeled “old.” It all started on Good Friday when I was walking across the parking lot at church. Two teenagers were on one side of me, and a delightful child was being carried in her grandfather’s arms on the other side...Read full story »
Monday, April 20, 2015
Our tapestries
Sometimes in the quiet times, when things aren’t going very well, an idea from the past helps a little bit. That happened to me recently. Things were kind of tough; and in the middle of the night I started thinking about “tapestries.” I was a young woman when I first heard...Read full story »
Thursday, April 09, 2015
In the hand of God
Sometimes when I’m heading into a difficult situation — a situation that could have a really bad outcome — I think about my Uncle Arvey. He was probably one of the smartest men that I knew when I was a kid. He was an engineer, and he was very clinical and very rational and very an...Read full story »
Monday, March 16, 2015
Just a little bit
Have you ever heard something that was so foreign to you that it took your breath away? Have you ever heard something so jarring that it resurrected itself and nudged you years after you first heard it? I’ve worked for The Message for 30 years. For the first 28 years, I was a staff wri...Read full story »
Monday, February 23, 2015
Decade by decade
A while ago, my husband and I drove up the road and traveled back a few decades in time. We spent the weekend at our college campus, the place where we met and fell in love. Whenever I go back there, I’m always searching for ghosts. I’m so hopeful of seeing people around every co...Read full story »
Monday, February 09, 2015
On being mindful
The first time that I heard the term “mindfulness” I also heard the word “bubbles.” Mindfulness means having an intentional focus on the present moment. The person who was explaining mindfulness to me suggested that I could learn this practice by doing something as si...Read full story »
Monday, January 26, 2015
Kelly Schaefer: Fractured but not broken
Most of the people in Jasper know Kelly (Craig) Schaefer’s story by heart. In July of 1999, she was a college sophomore at Indiana University, spending a family vacation in Colorado, when a drunk driver hit the vehicle she was riding in. When she awoke in the hospital, her mother told...Read full story »
Monday, January 12, 2015
It really was a very good day
I was recently flying the friendly skies from Evansville to Chicago on my way to Phoenix. It was an easy flight, and midway the flight attendant announced the gate numbers for our connecting flights. I had a leisurely layover, and about 30 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart, I...Read full story »
Thursday, December 18, 2014
The Longest Night
Sometimes, despite the tinsel and the carols, despite the fragrant wreaths and the twinkling lights, it’s hard to be festive in December. As Catholics we all know the story of the Nativity. We know about Joseph and Mary making the arduous trip to Bethlehem, and the arrival of our King...Read full story »
Tuesday, December 09, 2014
Watching the stars past and present
A long time ago when I was a young girl, my dad would invite me to go outside after the dishes were done and it was dark. We would sit in the backyard on our lawn chairs and look up at the stars together. On those warm summer nights, he would talk a little about the constellations above us,...Read full story »
Sunday, November 23, 2014
