CoffeeTime

Many things like our car washes, ATMs, and grocery stores now boast that they have contactless accessibility. “NO TOUCHING, KEEP TO YOUR YOURSELF SO YOU WON’T RISK BEING CONTAMINATED OR INVOLVED.” And that concept works for keeping yourself germ-free in this scary disease-ridden world.   But not so effective in rearing kids. We are now…

You can be absolutely right, have all your logical little ducks lined up perfectly in a row, with all your detailed facts ready at your fingertips to zap your opponent to smithereens… and be dead right. Because insisting on always being right can be a killer.   Sure, anybody with a spine that isn’t made…

Let me give my personal baseline right here at the beginning, and then jump headlong from that starting point. God is the giver of life. He has a plan for every life He creates. And He says it is a good plan.   Although, God says life is worth living, it is absolutely true that…

Most people with a beating heart want to be loved. Oh yes, I am certain that psychiatrists would be quick to point out there is a certain tiny percentage of humans who feel no love and have no need to be loved. But overwhelmingly, most of us crave the feeling of warm acceptance, or being…

Years ago, right after I began CoffeeTime Column, a friend suggested I write an article addressing ‘Dealing with your ex after the divorce.’   Now, I don’t know much, but I do know that a writer is foolish to attempt to write about an unfamiliar subject. And as I have never personally experienced the aftermath…

Way too often finding yourself lying awake instead of getting your beauty sleep? As many know firsthand, that is an extremely common problem for a lot of people. I won’t bother boring you with the national statistics of this plague, you won’t be interested or impressed. Because the only insomnia that truly bothers you is…

You are aging, every second you are alive, that is an inescapable fact. And right along with that joyous and party-mood-making pronouncement is another fact. Multiple years of aging most always brings on a certain amount of physical pain.   Ready to invite me to your next happy-go-lucky soiree yet? “Oh yeah, give that woman…

Two elderly sisters, one widowed and the other never married, were living together. They had decided the year before that because the oldest owned her house, the younger should leave a rented apartment and move into her sister’s second bedroom.   After the initial “Move over, I’m needing more drawer and closet space than this!”…

Where does a person go after death? We need to understand one thing from the beginning. When you draw your last halting shallow breath on this earth, from that point on, you are winging it on your own, with no one to run interference for you. Family ties mean nothing in eternity. The great-great-grandaddy who…

While watching our teen-aged son play four years of high school basketball games years ago, we both noticed an absolute truth; Our son could not seem to grasp that he wasn’t able to block every shot that was put up by the opposing team. He obviously believed that it was his God-given job to stop…

You are a caregiver. That very much over-stressed, over-worked and under-appreciated person who along with probably many others, holds the anonymous title of WORLD’S MOST PATIENT PERSON.   There are likely very few families among our population who have not experienced the sudden disruption, and even heartbreak, when a person among you goes down physically,…

Sarah and Travis were trying to make it to his mom’s house that night before the storm hit. They had driven nonstop from Denver, except for filling the gas tank, buying fast food, and bathroom breaks. And those three events had to be perfectly timed to happen together. God help the one who drank too…

Have you ever walked down the sidewalk, determined to be friendly and cheerful that particular day, and looked up to see someone coming toward you, but you couldn’t figure out whether to say “Good morning, sir” or Good morning, miss?” Bluntly put, you couldn’t tell if you were speaking to a male or a female.…

Oh, shoot. Why am I writing about this question? Do I have a hidden ‘Go ahead and kill me now, and get it over with’ complex in me somewhere? Here we go over hill and dale anyway, and consequences bedamned. THE QUESTION: How many “I really am sorry” will it take to get forgiveness for…

Years ago, a young couple left their almost-two-year-old son with his favorite baby sitter, Miss Elva. A few days later, she laughingly told them that he had come to her that evening, dragging his diaper bag behind him. Paul was a unique little boy who disliked speaking. He simply refused to talk unless he was…

Do. Not. Give. Up.  Giving up creates hopelessness. And hopelessness creates a huge black hole of depression and deadness in you. When you quit caring about anything in life, you stop living, even though your heart continues beating. Living in hopelessness means having to keep walking a step at a time when you don’t have…

To paraphrase a comedian from years ago, “D’ya know what makes me sick?” No? Well, I can gladly tell you. And there will be no referring to the cost of eating, or heating the house, or driving across the street nowadays. Although I certainly could.   The topic eating my lunch today; Having friends that…

Many people do. Many people find this particular holiday season to be full of heartache, or a nameless void. They can feel a myriad of unwelcome emotions that threaten to overwhelm and sink them into a black hole. Sadness, depression, loneliness, anxiety, or just the very fear of any of those. Any one, or all…

I am convinced of a truth after living all these years on this earth. Simply and baldly stated, there are some people who have bathed themselves in misery for years. And they truly do not want anyone to hand them a big thick towel to dry off.  They experienced a severe trauma in their life…

Four-year-old Barry was rambunctious and energetic. Gifted by God with charming smile, electric blue eyes and golden hair.   From the moment those mesmerizing blue eyes opened, to when they reluctantly closed in sleep after he had raced headlong thru his day, Barry had to be on the move. He loved to run, climb, throw,…

     Little Jimmy was one of those eight-year-boys who seem to be able to find a mud puddle in the Sahara Desert. And within seconds have his body covered with it. Sandy hair falling over mischievous bright eyes, he was an intelligent, energetic kid who had a boundless love of life.      Jimmy wasn’t exactly a deliberately…

     Everybody knows finances are tight today. Now, one can only hope against hope that by the time this column hits your hands, the sentence I just wrote is a lie. That by some miracle the ever-escalating balloon of inflation in our country has run into a sharp knife and rapidly became a splattered has-been on…

        My husband was a pastor for many years. And as such, he has always attempted to hold his public image as close to clean and shiny as he possibly could. After all, when you are called to represent the Creator, to love and help His creations, you really don’t want to be known as…

           Remember from your childhood all those stories about that man or woman “who lives right over there?” That person you knew from experience – yours or others – to avoid at all costs. Those stories varied from a witch, to scary dude, to mean as a junk yard dog.        Yeah, me too. And…