Author: jottingjoan

“Next time I will have to show them how to make a paper airplane,” my husband said Sunday as we left our turn leading children’s church. He does enjoy making his style of paper airplane. Recently, he patiently worked with great-grandson Austin showing him to fold a paper plane. I watched as Austin flopped the…

After delivering 22 boxes of Bibles and books at Love Packages, Hubby said “we better not go to the bins. We will just find more stuff to fill the van.” We went to the bins. I saw Christmas fabric. As a fabriholic i rationalized “This little bit of cloth barely takes up space.” After arriving…

Nate embraces the conveniences of modern electronic devices. We’ll skip over the steps he saves with the remote controls on his TV and garage door. They are so 20th century. As are his cordless electric lawn mower, weed eater and blower. He prefers to avoid dragging wires. Let’s begin with his cell phone – a…

Lately our house resembles a yard sale for books. It isn’t. No, this bibliophile welcomed a deluge of books donated for Love Packages in Butler, Illinois. In March the Barton Library Book sale yielded a couple cardboard boxes filled with Bibles, sermons, commentaries and devotionals. From other resources the collection grew until by mid-April we…

As I checked off another Mother’s Day last week, I realized few if any mentioned the women who welcomed unrelated children into their homes as foster mothers or legal guardians. The children may not called them “mom” or stay in the home through adulthood, but these women deserve recognition for the mothering they provide. Recently,…

We live, we collect necessary and desired items. We die and leave it all for someone else to sell, trash or donate to a thrift store. You can’t take it with you. Nor can you guarantee anyone else will cherish your stuff as you do. So why the surprise of the shopper when they found…

Nothing like an emergency call from home, “Mom, there is a troll in the house. Come home, please. I need you, Mom.” Mom heard what her tall, strong, autistic son, ‘Eddie’ said. She really did hear him, but a troll? “Now Eddie, quit playing that game and get your chores done. I have a job.…

The church program included a beautiful rendition of a familiar Bible story told in dance by professional ballerinas. They soared and swooped as they lifted their arms to portray the story’s details and the wonder of God’s interaction through the events. Their graceful pirouettes, leaps of joy and collapses into sorrow expressed the emotions of…

Folks drove hours, even days to gather in Texarkana to talk about their old, black sewing machines at the TOGA (Treadle Gathering and Academy.) Everyone there collects, repairs and /or uses old black sewing machines like their grandmother and great-grandmother once did. These all metal machines weigh 40 to 50 pounds. Hubby and I sat…

Scams come any time of the day. Sleep time hovered when the phone dinged and a message appeared. “How you doing. Sorry for just hitting you up but do you have 80$ I can borrow until tmr (tomorrow) for the kids so I can get them some things?” I knew him, my cousin’s son, but…

“I believe in miracles, I’ve seen a soul set free. Miraculous the change in one redeemed at Calvary.” For weeks those lyrics have stuck on my thoughts. It began with a phone call. The caller said ‘Buddy’ had moved out of his daughter’s house. “They broke up.” “Oh,” we mumbled. Not sad. We had prayed…

With fingers poised over the numbers on the keyboard, the pharmacist, as always, asked me, “what is your birthday?” I rattled off the numbers, stopped and looked at him, “And what are you going to do when I get into my dotage and can’t remember my birthday?” He stopped and looked at me thoughtfully. He…

Some books, such as “The Long Walk for Water,” stay with me long after I return them to the shelf. Linda Sue Park wrote a fictionalized version about the real 1980s experiences of a Sudanese Lost Boy called Salva and his impact on a Sudanese girl, Nya, 25 years later. Salva’s life changes abruptly the…

My daughter Sharon Joy Schulte wrote the following. I thought it needed sharing. I went to the Social Security office today. I had a list of tasks to take care of on my phone while I waited. Into the room came a sweet mom with three preschoolers. She wore a baby, pushed toddler in a…