#family

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The Sound of Silence…

In 1964, Kitty Genovese was murdered in New York City.  She was stabbed and raped on her doorstep.  A neighbor, Karl Ross, heard noises and cracked his door to see what was happening.  He promptly shut the door and called a friend to ask what he should do.  The friend told him to not get involved.  Eventually Mr. Ross climbed out of his apartment window and went to his friends home.  It was there he finally called the police.  When...

God’s Beautiful Tapestry

When I was a little girl, I wanted a BIG happy family! I remember praying for it and imagining what it would be like. I thought a big family would solve the woes of my world. You see, I was pretty much an only child raised by my beloved grandmother. My parents were good people actually but they could not beat their demons of substance abuse the first sixteen years of my life. As with most folks without God in...

From my heart about racism today

I with the rest of America was broken watching George Floyd beg for breath in his last moments. I heard the anger, the protests, the pain. I can’t write. I can’t think clearly. I unplugged from social media after a former student hurled racism at me for not posting sooner; I was stunned. I turned off the news when the “spin” became louder than the situation. I am a child of the integration years in Little Rock. Busing, segregation, and...

My “Ode” to the Journey–A Sincere Heart

God desires from us sincerity..He wants us to have a sincere heart (Ephesians 6:5); a sincere mind (2 Peter 3:1), a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5), a sincere wisdom (James 3:17); a sincere devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3), and a sincere brotherly love for other Christians (1 Peter 1:22). That means He wants our whole heart in every area of our life.  He wants us to be authentic.  He wants us to be real. Most of you know that...

God Said No…

Prayer changes things.  A few weeks ago I posted on Facebook a picture of my “prayer board”.  It seemed like something a few of my friends might like to make for themselves because…I’ve got PRAYING friends!  These friends keep journals, lists, notecards, mirror notes, and notebooks filled with requests from those who know they are committed to their prayer life.  If you ask them to pray for you – IT IS DONE!  No need to worry that it will be...

Dear Betty Crocker Cookbook–and Thank You Grandmommy Kay

Our word this week on Sheltered in Grace is HONOR.  When defined, it means to give esteem and respect for what someone has done.  I have been blessed with incredible grandmothers, a great mother, much like Timothy.  They have poured into me, guided me, pruned me when needed (even when it hurt), and helped mold me to who I am today.  So today, I want to honor one of them:  Kay Francis Beaman Hays–my maternal grandmother, whose influence still reigns heavily...

Planting Seeds of Forgiveness…

When Joseph’s brothers saw their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’  Now please forgive the sins of the...