Barrow Journal

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” – Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Part of me has always wished I had been born Catholic. I like all the pomp and circumstance, the standing and kneeling, the candles and incense balls, the tall hats and long robes, bright colors and the sheer scope of a religion that old and established. I also like the idea of God having angels and saints to delegate taking care of high maintenance customers like me to. Most of my concerns don’t warrant the attention of The Big Guy, Himself and for that I am thankful and indeed, well blessed.

Of all the things that concern me, the one thing that rips my emotional guts out time after time is an animal rescue. Maybe that’s why God gives me so many of them – they are such powerful teaching points and faith builders for me. [Full Story »] 

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” – Eskimo Proverb

My good friend and kind neighbor, Lu Peterman died last week and I know she will be much missed. I first met Lu the evening we arrived from Colorado to start our new life in Winder, some 23 years ago. It was a lovely evening, trees afire in their autumn best, with that soft, peachy, evening light just beginning to color the sky.

Lu and her husband, John, met us as we climbed out of our moving van. They said they’d been expecting us (John was the agent handling our rental) and they wanted to meet us and greet us and properly welcome us to Winder and the neighborhood. They seemed like such nice people, so genuinely kind and concerned. Theirs were the first old-fashioned, genteel, simply rolling gracefully off the tongue Southern accents we had ever heard and the sound was soothing and magical. We had a brief conversation and by the end of it, felt very welcome, indeed, in a special Southern way. [Full Story »] 

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein

But that is exactly what’s going on in too many local arenas. [Full Story »]