simply me and jeans

My daughter, Madison (Mattie), has a cat named Matty.  Believe it or not, he had that name when she adopted him from an animal shelter. At least their names were spelled differently. Matty is old and feeble. He’s had a stroke, sheds excessively, walks crooked, misses the litter box, can’t see well and has a […]

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do […]

“Try to lighten someone’s load or make them smile. You never know what their day has been like and what pain they’re carrying.” If I had to list the top 10 lessons that I’ve learned from my parents,  this would be one of them. We’ve all had days that knock the wind right out of […]

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him (the shepherd), and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”  John 10:3 “Karen” So clearly in my mind that I open my eyes and wait to see if it comes again. Nothing. That one word […]

I was at Starbucks for 2 hours today trying to make progress on this book we’re writing. That didn’t happen. Instead, I spent an hour talking to a young man about college, how tired he was, trying to encourage him and another hour trying to get my computer to work. Because I’d lost all focus, […]

  The last three weeks have been crazy! They’ve not only been the darkest and loneliest weeks of my life but also the most powerful and  impactful time of my life.  I know that’s contradictory.  The whole journey has been a picture of contradiction.  Death and life.  Faith and fear. Solitude and support. Waiting and […]

As I walked back to the hotel tonight, I passed the workers setting up for the Sunday market and suddenly realized we have been in Paris more than a week.  Last Sunday we bought some bread, cheese and veggies and had a solemn picnic in the park before going to see how Steve was doing […]

As I listened to my oldest daughter talk about the life of a young mom the other day, I clearly remembered writing this journal entry years ago.  The feelings of loneliness, boredom, doubt and exhaustion came flooding back and I had to rummage through old journals until I found it.  Not because it’s all that good; but, […]

As I talked to someone about marriage the other day, I remembered a guy from high school that scoffingly reacted to my beliefs about “casual” sex with “So, you’re literally only going to be with one person your whole life?”  That attitude is the norm these days and it worries me for so many people […]

It’s baby season in our town.  They’re popping out all over the place. Beautiful and precious babies that are poised to learn all kinds of things from this world and the people around them.That’s both terrifying and promising in the world we have created for ourselves. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed […]