When Jesus was on the Earth, He healed the sick, made the blind to see, the lame to walk and raised the dead. We often look at those miracles as far away and long ago, but they still happen today.

The dynamic of the family is constantly changing. In my youth, it was common for the mother to stay at home, and the father would have a job to provide for the family.

I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen several years ago. It is a story about Brian, a 14-year-old boy whose plane crashes into the wilderness. It took both physical and mental fortitude for Brian to survive. He could be called a mental warrior.

Spring is in the air. The daffodils and crocus are blooming. A new emerald green spreads across the lawn covering the crackling brown of winter. The birds twitter in the pink blossoms. It is so beautiful, but I know it will be short-lived. 

When my children were growing up, I tried to instill in them the idea of making crucial decisions in advance and sticking to them. Big decisions you only have to make once if you are committed to keep them. 

God is omnipotent and omnipresent. In other words, God is all-powerful and all-present. He is infinitely aware of everything and has the power to reach out and stop the eruption of a volcano, turn the night into day and to cause mountains to become valleys.

In the weariness of winter, I start to think about planting my garden. I know it is way too early to put seeds in the ground, but peat cups and potting soil are my friends. I plant my tomatoes, peppers and cabbages in peat cups so they can get an early start on the season.

When I was a child, I walked through my mother’s garden with a sense of awe and wonder. The velvet emerald grass spread under the Chinese elm trees and lilac bushes.

My hobby for the last few years has been quilt-making. My sisters and I have made 200 or 300 hand-quilted quilts.

The time thief has struck again! We are knocking on the door of a quarter of a new century. I wish I could find culprit who keeps giving steroids to that chubby little baby New Year and keeps needling the old man New Year to hobble faster and faster.