Beware, the Incremental Fade…
I couldn’t tell you how I found the first article if my life depended on it. Those Internet rabbit chases can sneak up on a person. A belle can be looking up a recipe one minute and watching video of a water skiing squirrel the next. Don’t act like you haven’t done it. I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night. As
Behold the Lamb
I’m writing to you from my favorite spot on the back porch. I can see the little blue nylon tent from here. The wind is threatening to tote it to the lake right now and I’m tempted to let it. I’m at odds with that silly tent. Its story has continued to unfold from the day I pulled it out of the carrier it came
A Gradual Process with World Changing Results
“Yes, ma’am” and “No, ma’am,” are as much a part of speech to me as nouns and verbs. I don’t have to think about using them. However, thanks to the consistent training of my Southern Mama, not using them requires a special effort similar to the deprogramming of a computer and equally challenging for this belle. Over the years I’ve unintentionally offended many ladies with what
Gracing the Public Square
I love words. If you’ve been sitting on the All Things Southern porch for any time at all, that did not come as a news flash. Still, should validation ever be necessary, my darling husband would tell you that ample proof abounds in the home we share here on the banks of a lake in a town called by God’s name. Words grace our walls, adorn
Why I Turned Down My First Marriage Proposal
I stared at the huge stone on the shiny gold band and looked up at the giver of the grand gift. What in the world should I say? He was so sweet, but I knew we were far too young. With as much sophistication as my second grade self could muster, I took a deep breath and explained to my on-again off-again boyfriend that I couldn’t
Topping Off Your Tank
My parents are big on the importance of keeping a vehicle’s gas tank as close to full as possible. Maybe it’s because they’ve always lived in the country where there isn’t a gas station on every corner, or any corner for that matter. Maybe it’s a generational thing, but to their way of thinking, when the needle gets anywhere around the half-way mark you’re running on
Scars of Redemption
I doubt any of you could see the faded marks on my chest if I didn’t point them out, but I can still see them because I know where to look. I look quite often. I call these marks my love wounds, gifts from my youngest grandchild. It’s unintentional, for sure, this habit nineteen month old Connor Maher has of playing with your skin while you’re
God Doesn’t Push
I heard a joke once about a little girl who was hurrying down a sidewalk on her way to Sunday School. I’m fuzzy on the details, but when has that stopped me? That was rhetorical, y’all, but thanks. Seriously, I’m pretty sure I can set this up for us and I know it’s worth a try. I see a message embedded in the humor and
How Appetizing is Your Witness?
One evening, my friend River Jordan and I sat down to enjoy a much-anticipated meal together at a particular restaurant in a town I won’t mention by name. It was the close of a very long day on the road during a book tour that had us taking in something like 79 cities in 58 days. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but we
Who Holds Your Tongue?
Chances are you’ve heard the expression, “hold your tongue.” It’s sort of an outdated way of telling someone to be quiet. But has anyone ever held your tongue for you? That’s what I figured. I believe yours truly is in the minority on this one. I’ve mentioned this before, but I want to look at it from a different angle today. So please, allow me
