I cannot believe it is here again, but it is August 24, and that means time to honor my dear hubby as we celebrate his BIRTHDAY! No better way to celebrate him than to share the character of the man that existed in our early years of marriage (1982-’87).

Who chooses a wife to feed when you are about to embark on your poorest years yet?! What a challenge! But a challenge he met with dog-determination!

My husband’s motto could have been, “He who does not work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:8-10, LB). It certainly rings true, “The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, . . . (Ecclesiastes 5:12, LB). His Seminary training began fifteen months after we said, “I do”! During that time, he worked two jobs, sometimes three, mowing the lawn for our apartment complex where we…

The sought after adventure of marrying Rodney Phillips became a roller-coaster ride for a small town girl more than she could have ever imagined. Leaving home and family in the south and moving to the gray skies of the north brought a great deal of isolation and loneliness. Then just two months after turning 20 years old, an overwhelming awareness became stronger and stronger.

I was pregnant!

Over a thousand miles from home, and having a baby, I found myself very excited and very fearful all at the same time. But just two months before my 21^st birthday, I gave birth to a beautiful baby. Rodney had been by my side through the entire process. I cannot find the words to explain how excited I was to hear the doctor announce, “it’s a boy!”

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created…

Hopeless and confused, describes how I was feeling in 2015 after hearing from several doctors that I would need surgery.  So, waiting to see the neurosurgeon for my herniated discs, I didn’t have any hope for recovery apart from surgery. As I reclined on the sofa, also recovering from a bout of vertigo, our youngest daughter and her husband came by to give me a belated Mother’s Day gift. I will never forget how beautiful she looked that day. As she walked around the sofa and handed me a small piece of paper, I understood why she was beaming, and even seemed to be glowing. My gift was a sonogram printout of my “in utero” grandchild! Unfortunately, shock overshadowed any elation I might have felt.

My mind raced: “how would I be any help? How involved could I be as a grandmother? I could hardly walk to the bathroom on…