My Journal
Where I share my thoughts in words.
christmas in a mason jar
(an old-fashioned tale of the season)It started quite simply, as many times these things do. A quart of soup in a Mason canning jar seems such an insignificant thing but don’t try to say that to a little farming community in the Midwest. They won’t hear you. They...
a story of Mary
My name is Mary. When I was born, there were many girls with this name. And just like my name was common, so was everything else about me. I had the same dark eyes and hair of my people, olive skin, and a nose just the least bit prominent. As I grew up, my stature was...
a cookie cutter story
As Catherine took the cheap, tin cookie cutters from their jar, she remembered the story. She always did when she made Christmas cookies with Grandma Kitty’s cutters. It was a story passed down for 2 generations — from mother to daughter while they shaped stars...
yellowstone christmas
I never dreamed I would spend Christmas Eve away from my native Midwestern roots, without the comfort of family and familiar foods. But, then I never dreamed I would be a widow at age 29 either. But both are true. And now, by the generosity of a fellow teacher, I am...
far from home
The wind on the lake flung ice crystals against the glass window pane of the cabin. Britta could barely see the fir trees in front. Such a storm! The cabin was warm enough; the rocking chair made by her husband’s skilled hands sat in front of the fireplace, a cheery...
christmas crash
The calendar on the refrigerator had so many dates circled it looked like a geometry test. The kitchen sink was piled with white bowls and plates like a mouth crowded with teeth. A laundry basket in the hallway grinned mockingly, the red sock hanging over the side...
the christmas swap
In that very odd manner that train stations have, it was cozy and yet too full at the same time. To Pastor Dillingham, it was a haven. Or at least the prelude to a haven. He was on his way home for the Christmas holidays. And everything within sight fairly sparkled...
the christmas village
Marian held her breath and opened the box. She peered inside. Just as she had thought. The clinking sound was the pieces of her porcelain church – the centerpiece of her tiny Christmas village. Broken. She could hardly believe it. This village had survived four moves,...
what’s in the manger?
Deena slipped off her shoes and leaned against the side of her cahier’s cubby hole. Only fifteen minutes left on her shift. The endless cacophony of beeps from the store’s computerized sales’ machines was winding down. The shoppers who remained now were the usual...
christmas cottage
It was going to be a glorious Christmas vacation. Mara could feel it deep inside. Everything from the planning stage on had gone perfectly. And when she had stepped out of the SUV and glimpsed the clapboard cottage framed by fir trees draped with glistening snow, she...
