Which Car Would Jesus Drive?
Recently, I had a difficult decision to make. My faithful 1996 Dodge Grand Caravan finally sputtered its last, making it necessary to replace the car. I am not a fan of change. I like the familiar, the ordinary and the comfort of routine. Now, here I was checking newspaper ads and making multiple trips to…
Read More >Power Lifter Chris Paynter
Christopher Paynter lifts a lot of weights, but recently that weight turned to “gold.” As a power lifter for Oklahoma Special Olympics, Paynter recently competed in the first National Special Olympics games in Ames, Iowa, and brought home one gold and three silver medals. The 31-year-old athlete captured first place with a bench press of…
Read More >7 Minutes of Terror
What part of your daily routine takes only seven minutes? Is it your morning shower? Breakfast at home? A quick stop at Starbucks? Seven minutes sounds short-quick-fast, but sometimes it can feel like an eternity. On April 20, 1999, sixteen-year-old Crystal Woodman Miller spent seven minutes of terror, crouched under a library table at Columbine…
Read More >Letters from Louise
My youngest son, Jay, was born on a late April night in 1976. After the initial shock of learning he had Down syndrome, our pediatrician informed us that he also had a heart murmur and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital in Oklahoma City. So at six weeks old, Jay had his…
Read More >A Place to Call Home
When Gary and Shouna Olson began planning for their son’s future, they found nothing in the state that met their desire: a Christ-centered group home. The Olson family attends Henderson Hills Baptist Church where Preston, an 18-year-old young man with Down syndrome, is involved in numerous activities. He is also active in the community.“I want…
Read More >Healthy Disorganization
The month of May has always been busy for me. Not only are there three family birthdays, but it is also the month for State Special Olympics, Mother’s Day and—drum roll, please—spring-cleaning! Yep, you read that right. Years ago, I would round up my kids, map out all the dirty chores (they didn’t know about…
Read More >Christmas in Any Language
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is baking and sharing homemade “goodies.” One year, just before Christmas, a new family moved into our neighborhood—two houses up and across the street from us. Since I was already baking some Christmas teacakes covered with red, green and yellow sugar crystals, I made an extra dozen for our…
Read More >Capturing Life Through a Lens
Darrell Barton has been in most wars since the mid-1960s. “I fought in Vietnam and filmed the rest,” he said, speaking of his years as a cameraman with ABC, NBC and CBS news. Born in Arkansas and growing up “all over” but mainly in Kansas, Barton had an interest in cameras from an early age,…
Read More >Love and Commitment
June is here and “weddings” are in the air! I often wonder why so many couples choose June to exchange their vows. I need only look back at my own wedding to answer that. Trust me, March is not the best month of the year to be married, especially in a cold climate. My husband…
Read More >A Happy and Thankful New Year
Nothing beats an “interruption” in life to shake us up and give us a new perspective. And what better time to happen than around the New Year, overshadowing those time worn resolutions to lose weight, exercise and eat healthy. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with those goals. In fact, we should make them part of our…
Read More >Natural Learning
Elementary educators John Duhon, Jenny Dunning and Risa Wilkins grew up in different places and a decade apart, but they had something in common. Each grew up with creeks, pastures and an outside world to explore, which led to endless discoveries of nature, imagination and self. They believe such unstructured time allowed for more creative…
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