My Trip to Israel

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018! I hope you enjoyed the holiday season with your family/friends. I had a wonderful Christmas and a very relaxed New Year’s Eve and Day with loved ones. It was a peaceful ending to a very eventful year. Did you enjoy reading Victoria York’s blog post, Are You Afraid of Not Being Afraid?, a few weeks ago? I know I did. If you didn’t get a chance to read it yet, please take a few minutes to check it out. You will not regret it. After an extended break from blog writing, due to READ MORE

Time for Israel

In a few days, I will be taking my first trip to Israel. The last two weeks have been a flurry of activity. I didn’t realize it would take so much preparation for a 10-day trip overseas. The last time I went overseas was for a 3-year relocation to Germany, which required extensive planning. Thankfully, my bags are now packed, and I am ready to go. I am so excited! I have dreamed of visiting Israel for most of my adult life. For me, this trip is not only another journey overseas but a pilgrimage with great religious significance. As READ MORE

Stepping Out on a Limb

I am a thinker. I do not like to make hasty decisions. I enjoy examining situations with a magnifying glass, looking for impending problems and valid alternatives. Eventually, I will make a decision, but often after picking apart every possible issue and scenario. Recently, I had an important decision to make. I was attending a meeting, a few months ago, where a local pastor mentioned he was hosting a trip to Israel in December. For many years, I have dreamed of visiting the Holy Land, but I didn’t believe I would have the opportunity until my children were grown and READ MORE

I Miss Him

Tonight, I really don’t feel like writing. I want to curl up in a ball under my plush, warm, inviting blanket, close my eyes, and get lost in sleep. This has been a tough week. Every year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Chris, our children, and I would meet my dad, siblings, stepmom, and step-siblings for our family get together. For a couple of years, we met at Dad’s or a sibling’s home, but we decided that it would be easier to meet at a centrally located hotel in Missouri. Each family would arrive at different times throughout the day. We READ MORE

Writing Workshop – Part B

As most of you know from my last post, I flew to New York City this past weekend for a caregiver’s writing workshop, provided by the Wounded Warrior Project, WWP, and hosted at the Writers Guild of America East. Let me tell you, it was an amazing trip. For those of you that are new to my blog, let me give you a little backstory concerning my trip. In December of last year, I was selected to attend the first part, unaware until two days into the trip that the workshop was a two-part event, of the WWP Writing Workshop READ MORE