“Ohhh,” my teenage son groaned as he clambered like an old man into the car at the end of the school day. “I’m SO tired!”
Tag: Julianne Nornberg
Importance of hospitality, community especially today
Just before the New Year, our house looked similar to many other homes.
Christmas lights decorated the tree in our living room. Children were busy with new toys and games. Cookies and other goodies often made their way into little searching hands and mouths.
A matter of perspective: Passing on faith through subtleties of our actions
In a classroom recently, I told the following true story to a few young children.
“A long time ago, my husband and I were roasting marshmallows over a campfire with some friends,” I said, my eyes wide as I told the story.
“Our friend’s marshmallow caught on fire, and instead of blowing it out, he waved his stick back and forth quickly, trying to put the fire out,” I said, waving my hands dramatically to illustrate our friend’s actions. “But the burning marshmallow flew off the stick and landed as a mound of flaming goo onto my husband’s leg!”
Cleaning out our spiritual junk rooms
“So, what’s in this room?” a friend asked once, when she was visiting us long ago.
She opened the door to our very cluttered “junk room,” saw the teetering piles of mail, unfinished projects, and general chaos, and laughed.
God’s loving hand in our garden of life
I looked and saw for the first time today a beautiful sunflower in the backyard garden.
There it was, standing tall, cheerful, sunny, unexpected.
God’s loving hand in our garden of life
I looked and saw for the first time today a beautiful sunflower in the backyard garden.
There it was, standing tall, cheerful, sunny, unexpected.
Defeating pride by embracing humility
In my not-so-distant past, four tired children hung on all sides of my overflowing shopping cart as the checkout line inched along.
We are an Easter people of hope
Recently the sun shone gently on the slopes of the river bank as my four children ran alongside it, shouting and laughing at their stick boats they’d sent downriver.
“Here comes mine!” they shouted excitedly as their sticks bobbed over the ripples in the water.
Hone your gifts for God this Lent
“Mom, what is my talent?” My son’s eyes were wide, searching, and sincere, accompanying a question that came out of the blue.
He listed his siblings’ talents that included creativity and musical ability, friends’ talents that included a knack for sports.
‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord’ in the new year
My five-year-old son is a budding pianist.
Day after day he sits at the piano and plunks away at the keys, often producing beautiful songs from his lessons as well as composing his own.
But sometimes, he doesn’t. Like I said, he’s five.