Written: May 30, 2016 We experience the touch of God many times through the compassionate acts of others. During the recent loss of my father, the Lord showed me the depths of His love through two of my great nephews, Thomas Jackson and Kyle Lamons. In Thomas, I saw the depth of a child’s love … More Selfless Acts of Kindness
Written: May 24, 2016 One year ago today my family was enjoying a beautiful trip to the British Isles in celebration of our 25th wedding anniversary and Nathan’s graduation from high school. Six months ago, I left for work and never to hear my love’s voice again. One week ago, I said goodbye to the … More I know Who Holds Tomorrow
Written May 15, 2016 It’s been a hard week, as we’ve said goodbye to my dad, Tom Brown. As the five of his children were together, with grandchildren and great grandchildren too numerous to count, my brother Steve Brown made the comment that the five of us all remember Dad in a different way, as we lived … More Another Good-bye
Written April 3, 2016 I had the privilege of sitting between my two sons today (as we took care of the video and sound) as we watched our Arabic Baptist Church family celebrate 5 years of ministry in Murfreesboro. It was a bittersweet day, as they heard beautiful words shared about the role of their … More Celebrations
After our return from a Thanksgiving feast at the church, we were undecided about what to do the rest of our day, so while David and I sat down for some reading, Nathan retreated to the work shop. David then followed him an hour or so later…I kept reading. As the sky grew dark, I … More The Lights Still Burn
Psalm 127:3 reads: Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. Though the passage goes on to talk about having a quiver full of them, Raouf and I always joked about starting too late in life to fill our quiver, but I have blessings enough from these two sons to make up for a … More My Blessings have Names
Today, the Arabic Baptist Church hosted a memorial service to mark the 1-year anniversary of my husband’s death. The church was full of people who may not have known Raouf for more than 5 or 6 years, but who were touched by this man of God. As my sons and I listened to one after … More Words of Comfort and Love
Today is the 6 month anniversary of my father’s death. Sometimes, it’s hard to believe I’m grieving for the two most important men in my life at the same time, but then the 14th comes around, and I think: “Wow, another month has gone by already.” I miss my dad, and think of him every … More The Good Outweighs the Bad
Last night I was visiting my sons in Cookeville, TN, where they go to college. After attending a fundraising dinner for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, we came back to their house. Within 30 minutes their small living room was full of friends, laughing, pulling out instruments to play, and talking about what was happening in … More Not your typical college students