Melinda’s Blog
Christmas 1980 – A Family Renewed
The calm wrapped around me like a blanket that Christmas morning over forty years ago. Our hundred-year-old home, decorated in holly and white twinkling lights, held a freshness it didn’t have before. Mom lit a candle on the coffee table—face glowing with her new...
Homeless No More
Here is a true story I stumbled upon a few weeks ago, and I’ve received permission to share it with you. At the store, I talked to a checker I’ve known for years. As she rang up our family’s groceries, she shared a story from her life that I’d never heard. In her...
Flashlight Power
Never in my life had I wanted a flashlight . . . until. Well, let me explain. Flashlights give me headaches. One flash in the wrong direction and I’m seeing spots and then get an instant headache. If I avoid them, I’m fine. Besides, they are rarely where I need them...
Chipples Set Free
Perhaps you remember a certain chocolate puppy we thought we would keep for our eight-year-old son last spring. Well, we realized we needed to expand the lineage of our little home business, raising chocolate and silver labs. We decided instead to purchase a chocolate...
Are We There Yet?
As parents we’ve all heard these words. Maybe on the way to a new park or a friend’s house, or maybe on vacation. We were on a road trip just last week from our home in Oregon to Silverwood, in Idaho, when we heard these words. With three hours behind us and five...
Mountain or MOUNTAIN?
One sunny day our youngest son and I were driving north on a backroad to town. “Caleb,” I said, “look at the mountain!” I stared in awe at Mount Hood in front of me, glistening white with entrenched, blue shadows. “Where, Mom? Do you mean the sawdust pile?” His eight...
Puppies!
Our daughter’s dearly loved chocolate lab, Truffles, was ready to have pups. My niece was poised to help. Everything was washed and ready. Two o’clock on Saturday, June 1st, the first puppy arrived, a fox red, followed by a champagne, then a little silver. By midnight...
From the Mouth of a Child
Dear Ones, Mother’s Day is fast approaching. This seemed a good time to share a memory where God certainly became the hero. Many of you know we made a choice to homeschool long before we had kids. But I had no idea the challenges that would come with that one...
Loving during Rough days – Kids and parents alike
It was probably twenty years ago. Sure, we’ve had rough days since then. But that one made an impression on me that I think of every rainy season. It was late winter. Everyone had been inside, all 8 of us, back then. And each of us had stepped on one another one too...
Kids Can Surprise You!
Hello Friends, I hope you all are seeing the peaks of sunshine this winter as a welcome warmth. It sure does a body good to see sun after ice, snow, and rain. Mid-January is when we get away to the beach for our church planning retreat each year. We were delighted to...
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Christmas decoration and Christmas present. The words of this familiar carol warmed my soul: God rest ye merry gentlemen,Let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Savior,Was born this blessed day. To save us all from Satan's power,When we were gone astray. Oh,...
Chasing God’s Grace
My daughter sat with my laptop open on the bathroom counter reading her speech to me while I cleaned the bathroom and switched laundry. Maybe I was caught up with what she was saying or maybe I was having a -moment- All I knew was that I couldn’t find the setting I...