Serve by Design

More than thirty-three years ago, we moved our family to central Illinois and bought our second home. This modest ranch-style house is situated on a half-acre corner lot and has five mature trees, numerous shrubs and flowering bushes that serve as habitat attracting a variety of birds and small animals. One of the most prized of our collection is the stately Rhododendron that always has a bird nest or two each season. If I get too close to the bush during spring cleanup, I hear squawking that warns me that anxious mother birds are protecting baby hatchlings! May Celebration Time! Every May this native Rhododendron puts on a magnificent display of flowering beauty. The variety of our Rhododendron has purple flowers that attract early pollinators to the trumpet-shaped flowers with their brilliant petals and multiple stamens in perfect symmetry.. There are times when I’d like to trim and prune this large plant back. But then, I think about how often we have used the Rhododendron as a back...

Last week, during a family get-together, Uncle Phil came over from Charleston with a car load of camping gear that he passed along to Dan and Michelle's family. The gear is like new, but he no longer spends his nights in the great outdoors and wanted the next generation to benefit from the experiences he had previously enjoyed. I have observed that camping, hiking and connecting with nature have become even more popular since the Pandemic. Families and individuals have chosen to participate in the original "social distancing" adventures of God's good outdoors. Follow the leader! Our New Mexican family members, Reece and Melissa and "company," regularly take excursions north and west toward campsites near Santa Fe and also to their favorite weekend destination in Durango, Colorado! The kids love to hike and get a firsthand experience with nature! They have their sights set on getting an RV in the near future to make the adventures a little more parent-friendl...