Can We Talk About It?

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Photo: MorgueFile I saw a comic strip in which the wife said to her husband, “I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize what you heard is not what I meant.” Try saying that quickly three times and you may begin to understand how truly difficult it is to express what we want to say so that the other person will understand.  The key, my friends, is communication.     In this book 1 , ” Making Love Last Forever ,” Gary Smalley refers to five levels of intimacy in communication, moving from the superficial to the meaningful.

The Legacy of a Smile

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Photo: Colin Broug Twenty-five years in the classroom, at the same school is quite a record for any teacher. Ken Wilson achieved that record, though the last year was a struggle.

Building Altars

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Photo: Chris Greene I’ve always been intrigued with the altars that the people of the Old Testament built. Even as a kid, I was impressed with the great stories that included altars.

Blessed Homesickness

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Photo: MorgueFile Holiday arrangements did not happen as planned this past year.

Valentines

Photo: Studiomill Valentine’s Day is filled with thoughts of love and adoration. You can just imagine that someone very romantic established the day and maybe even sent out the first lovely Valentine’s card … but history tells us that the day was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD in remembrance of the martyrdom of one or more early Christians named Saint Valentine

Thinking of Home

Photo: Studiomill Nursing homes are one of my least favorite places to visit.

What’s in a Name?

First Valentine

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Photo: MorgueFile She was his first Valentine. He was hers. They married on Valentine’s Day, 1953

Fragile Things

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Photo: Chris Greene A little five-year-old girl named Megan was being led through an art gallery by the artist whose paintings were being showcased. At the end of the day, after seeing so many beautiful, exquisite paintings and being told by her mom not to touch, when the artist asked Megan, “What do you like best of all the things you see here?” Megan leaned forward and whispered, “I want to touch the fragile things.” That’s the longing in all of our hearts, isn’t it? We want to go beyond the superficial and mundane and touch the fragile things, the things of real value, things of the heart and soul

Five Seeds

Photo: Studiomill “I believe these belong to you,” a man extended his cupped hand toward me. I peered into his hand and noticed that he cradled five seeds. They were indistinct seeds that I had never seen before.