Serve by Design

I was perturbed, and felt inconvenienced, until I discovered what was going on! This snow and extremely cold spell have had my nerves more than a little on edge. So, when I looked up to see 18-wheeler trucks and other vehicular traffic lined up farther than my eye could see, I complained aloud to myself, “Here they go again! These guys looking for a shortcut are further tearing up our badly maintained Sherman boulevard! What’s going on?!” Image credit: gettyimages.com Eventually, I would be able to make my right turn and join the flow traveling through a couple of traffic lights and across the Sangamon River up to Peoria Road. On the way, I saw a small but insightful sign above the I-55 directional sign. It simply read, “Incident Bypass.” I knew immediately, this was not about shortcuts, but rather IDOT was managing something up on the interstate highway that required a diverting of traffic through our quiet little village. Recently, I have had one thing after another of personal and...

One of my fondest memories of Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house was eating all my favorites at the kid’s table on the porch that was situated just off her kitchen. It was a sufficiently spacious, heated, and multi-purpose area for storage, washing clothes, and of course, served as the back entry point into the house. Kids could be as loud and rowdy as they wanted without disturbing the adults gathered in the dining room! Thanksgiving at Aunt Brenda's After eating, and when the dining table had been cleared, grandma would gather back at the main table to sit with family members (generally, females who were recovering from the clean up!). It was a time to snack on grapes from the fruit bowl and chat about many things. Most subjects were “above my pay grade” as a kid! But one topic for discussion gave me much delight and interest. It was the rehearsing how God had blessed us over the past year. Everyone could participate in this time of sharing! I have been doing some reflectin...