Our "new" toaster ticks like something that needs to be defused. That's not its only unusual feature. When my husband decided to make late-night toast without turning on the kitchen lights for some reason, we discovered it also glows. In a hot-red-wire, pulsing kind of way. Like really pulsing. Pulsing that would have alarmed most… Continue reading Why we’re not toast
JOY JOURNAL BLOG
The Power of Oranges
There was a time in the 1900s -- beginning by at least the Great Depression and ending sometime in the late 1980s -- when brown paper bags filled with fruit, nuts and candy were a thing in the low-church world. On the last service before Christmas Day, each person in attendance (including babies) received a… Continue reading The Power of Oranges
The Kitchen Stack
An odd thing has happened to the kitchen table in our first few months of empty nesting. One end -- the place where our firstborn sits when she is home -- has become a place for books. There's always a volume or two that is devotional in nature -- tidily tucked under a beeswax candle… Continue reading The Kitchen Stack
My coat vs. God’s plan
It was a nice coat that Joseph had. Full of color and such luxury as was possible for a family living in the wilderness. But, it wasn't enough to keep him. In a single day, his brothers stripped him of his coat, dipped it in animal blood and convinced their father -- who had given… Continue reading My coat vs. God’s plan
What a year of innkeeping has taught me about readiness
There's the TED Talk stuff, of course. Work as a team. Communicate. Monitor your supplies -- first in, first out. But, the thing that has really stood out in this sea-change year -- a year sparked by the convergance of a sudden step back from a career in journalism and an emptied nest -- is… Continue reading What a year of innkeeping has taught me about readiness
