Learning To Live Again!
Holidays are difficult when going through grief, and we just came through the most significant—Christmas. Supposedly, the New Year promises new beginnings, but in truth, I just want my “old life” back. I want my heart to be happy again and my mind to stop the constant “if only” and “what ifs.” I continually remind…
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Pondering Miracles!
With Christmas almost upon us I’m thinking of miracles, since the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Christmas miracle we celebrate. But what do we really know about miracles? Recently, I spoke with a lady whose grown son survived an illness which almost took his life. She called it a true…
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Missing Jay
Forty-six years ago God sent me one of my greatest treasures—James Ryan Jones—better known as “Jay.” How could I know this baby boy with Down syndrome and a rare congenital heart disease would forever change my life and the world around me? My heart was and still is completely mesmerized by this sweet son and…
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Visting Mama
Louise continues to watch over Jay who had emergency surgery in August and is still critically ill in ICU. Louise thanks you for your prayers. This column is from two years ago – a fitting tribute to Louise’s mother who passed away in September. Yesterday, I went to see Mama. I have always enjoyed our…
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The COVID Crisis!
Before this story went to print, Jay had to have an emergency abdominal surgery and is in ICU on a ventilator. Prayers for Jay’s recovery! COVID-19! Not something I wanted to experience. I was so careful! I did curbside pickup for groceries and wore a mask if I went into a store. My son, Jay…
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Visiting Mr. Wilson
While Louise and Jay are recovering from Covid, Louise asked us to publish one of her favorite columns. The Outlook wishes Louise and Jay a speedy recovery. Today as I drove past a nursing home with beautiful crape myrtles blooming at the windows a memory came to me. Years ago, our church developed a program…
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Weddings and Showers
Summer is definitely a popular time for weddings. Always has been. My son, Aaron, and wife, Amy, had a lovely, summer wedding 28 years ago. So much fun! But today’s nuptials and wedding showers are quite different from the ones I grew up with. In fact, by today’s standard, the ceremonial vows my late husband…
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The Reluctant Seamstress
My mother was an excellent seamstress, making most of my clothes during my growing up years. Living on a farm and having very little to spend on extras, Mama made most of my clothes out of feed sacks. She would go to the store with Daddy and pick out pretty pastels, flowered prints, and other…
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Tornado!
May is a busy, spring month. Along with Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, there are weddings, graduations, reunions, and birthdays. But May often brings a little more than “sunshine” when you live in tornado alley. When I was young and attending my older brother’s high school graduation, someone suddenly announced there was a tornado coming…
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Jay’s Birthday Celebrations!
April is my son, Jay’s birthday month. We’ve had lots of celebrations through the years—45 to be exact. Being as Jay has Down syndrome and severe heart disease, which could not be repaired, doctors told us he would probably never live into his teens so we tried to make every day special, especially birthdays. And…
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March Memories
Snow! Cold Snaps! Not my favorite weather! I prefer summer sunshine. But in truth, some of my sweetest memories took place in March snowstorms. My late husband, Carl and I were married at a little Army chapel during a snowstorm at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Two years later, we brought home our firstborn in a…
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