This picture is a treasure. Many will simply see friends having lunch after church. Some who “know” the people in the picture might scoff. This picture holds so many stories. As the oldest of my family, I had an often-challenging relationship with the friends of my siblings. One minute they were seeking me out for […]

I hope tomorrow’s weather is nice. I sure hope the publisher received the edits I emailed. I always hope for just the right amount of rain or an answer to prayer. I might hope for a phone call. I’ve even hoped for miracles. You can probably relate. Most of us hope a lot of times

I’m not sure when it actually happened. Maybe it was initially escorted into my mind and thoughts when one of my best friends in kindergarten was diagnosed with leukemia. They took him to Seattle for a bone marrow transplant; I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him again. Or maybe it was watching my grandpa die

Something exciting and unexpected happened this morning. I had been “interviewed”, but I had no idea that it would actually be used. All because of Jesus!!! Meet Michele DeRolf – Bold Journey Magazine

Our property is nine plus acres of almost heaven. (My friend Fran would strongly disagree, but I try not to hold that against her.) There’s beautiful, lush grass that begs me to walk barefoot or even sit for a while. We have gorgeous trees that top 100 feet and are likely 100 years old. My

This past week I went to Grand Rapids for the Speak Up Conference (basically where this story began last year). Per usual, there was a stellar list of conference team members along with an equally impressive group of attendees. Last month I wrote about coincidences, specifically from my NYC trip. This trip to Grand Rapids

Listening to the radio the other day I heard something that wouldn’t stop bouncing around my head. We’ve probably done a huge disservice to people (but I’m specifically talking about women) by telling them, “You can have it all”. You’ve heard that or even said it, right? But the truth is, that’s impossible. There’s no

A trip to NYC is bound to provide ample writing material. So when I sat down to consider where to start, my options were pretty overwhelming. Suddenly though, one occurrence seemed to dominate my thoughts. We use the word coincidence rather frequently. So many things genuinely seem, by definition, to be coincidence (a remarkable concurrence

When you think of summer, what comes to mind? Are there memories that bring a smile to your face? The older I get, the less tolerant I am of the summer heat; once it’s above 80 degrees there’s a serious possibility that I’ll resemble the Wicked Witch of the West. MELTING. But I definitely don’t

I’m preparing to take a trip. Not just any trip. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of trip. I’m going with my sisters and mom to NYC. Now I’ve traveled with them before, but I don’t recall anything more than one night. This expedition is SIX nights. And did I mention we’re driving? Oh, wait! And we’re