I Need to Borrow Superman’s Cape
By Karen Friday
Shoulders back. Head and chin up. I trust it will fit nicely. Superman’s cape.
A few heroines sport capes too. Those won’t do. There’s a need to stand tall—to fly—to take on something bigger than my wildest dreams and shoot for the moon. (I’ve never hit the moon.)
I admit, a daily selection of wrinkle-free capes already hang in my wardrobe.
Independent cape: Want-ads aren’t placed in the local newspaper. I work alone, not part of a superhero team. No sidekicks or aspiring heroes necessary. I can save myself, save you, and save the day!
Comic book cape: My life is captured and illustrated on colorful pages. Children and collectors everywhere marvel at my cape-wearing-stories. Performing heroic feats, villain knock-outs, then receiving the adoration. Hero worship.
April 30, 2015 at 9:27 am | Uncategorized
The Night the Wheels on the Bus Stopped Going Round
He turned off the lights. My heart—almost audible—frantic inside my chest.
I was twenty. He was old enough to be my father. Sitting behind him had been a decision of safety. Late evening approached when a hand-full of people boarded a Greyhound bus. The majority made their way to the middle and back of the bus.
Vacationing at the beach with my dad and family. We had driven down the prior Saturday. My dad decided to extend his trip, though I was leaving a few days later in route to Africa for six weeks of missions.
I went with my father to the bus station. “It will be fine.” he assured me. “People take the bus all the time.”
April 23, 2015 at 8:33 am | Uncategorized
5 Ways to Never Give Up on Marriage
Mike and Karen, April 6th, 1985
“Thank you both for always loving and never giving up on each other! We are so thankful!”
Powerful words tucked inside a greeting card. The author is not a clever Hallmark writer. This is a personal view of struggles—in the midst of love—from a front-row-seat-ticket-holder.
Words penetrating my soul from our daughter and son-in-law, Megan and Tyler, for our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Why thankful?—we have not parted ways when the going gets tough. And it does get tough. Our children have seen our fight for love . . . for staying together.
Thousands of wonderful, joyous moments are celebrated in our marriage. A marital bliss caption; All Smiles and Kisses. But there are other moments. Marriage in the real world has a real caption; The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
April 16, 2015 at 8:38 am | Uncategorized
Sexual Purity
Purity starts in our mind then trickles down to the rest of us: body, soul, and spirit.
“Go with the flow!” An iconic saying when I was a teen. Going with the flow, not fighting against the tide of popular trends, but going along with prevailing opinions.
The sexual flow in our culture promotes a philosophy of personal choice and doing whatever feels good. Whoa! What-ever is the undercurrent of impurity carrying us away from God’s standards about sex.
Philosophies trickle from the flood gates in our mind through small, steady streams of messages. Cultural attitudes on sex ebb and flow through several mediums. We aimlessly listen to song lyrics, watch visual entertainment, and read writings penned with impurity’s voice cheering us on in sex—with no boundaries. Allowing sexual impurity to defile our mind as we go with the flow.
April 9, 2015 at 9:37 am | Uncategorized
Where’s the Gravy?
By Karen Friday
Southern gals know how to make gravy. It’s one of those unspoken prerequisites for coming of age in the south and getting married to a Southern guy.
Types of gravy come in the boatfuls—you’ve heard of the “gravy boat.” Red-eye gravy. Chocolate gravy. I’m referring to breakfast gravy, usually sausage-flavored, poured over piping-hot Southern biscuits.
For 20 years my husband, Mike, served as a youth pastor. He is now lead pastor of our church. Mike grew up on Southern gravy, as did I. Many of our pastor friends often discuss whether there is food in heaven and if it’s Southern favorites like pinto beans and cornbread . . . and gravy!
April 2, 2015 at 8:00 am | Uncategorized