One Year Later

It has been a long Lent.  For some families who have recently lost loved ones to disasters, illness and the whole gamut of human vulnerability Lent may be just beginning, but Lent, like everything has an end.  That is the really amazing thing about life.

The argument I hear most often for why I don’t need God is something along the lines that either God isn’t doing a good enough job, what with all the suffering we face, or that we can overcome suffering on our own power – if…

Jettison tiptoed into the kitchen and put his finger to his lips.  Dove stared at him with a half smile and a bemused expression.  “So what? You’ve robbed a bank or something?”

Jettison pulled two hand-woven baskets from behind his back.  They were filled with various candies and small surprises.  Dove’s eyebrows rose.  She whispered, “Those baskets look…well…authentic.  Where’d you get them?”

Jettison set one down at Tasha’s place and the other at Kiddo’s.  He looked at his…

“So Bensen, are you ready?”

Bensen looked at his brother-in-law and wondered if he was joking.  “Is anyone really ready for this kind of a commitment?”

Jettison smiled.  “Well, it’s a job and you need a job, right?”

Bensen shook his head.  “But a school bus driver?  Why, they might kill me!”

“You’re the adult.  Besides, you’re only taking the pre-schoolers back and forth in the morning.  It’s not like you have to drive them to another state.  They are all local…

Just a little note to let you know that The Deliverance Trilogy book 1, ARAM, will be available FREE on Kindle next week April 14 – 18th.  Holy week special!  Enjoy:)  And for those who prefer a paperback there are still copies available of all three books - ARAM, Ishtar’s Redemption, and Neb the Great - on Good Reads. Just sign up and see if you are one of the lucky ones!

Jettison turned the page of his book and looked up. Something was odd, but as he listened to the silent house he could not imagine what had caught his attention.  The kids wee sleeping, at least he hoped so, and the snow had stopped, he hoped again, and Donald had taken both Bensen and Billy home with him after dinner, thank the Lord above. He shook his head and returned to his book.

Dove switched off the bathroom light and scrambled into bed.  “Oh, its cold tonight!”  She smelled…

Little Billy Hopped didn’t mind speaking with his mouth full of food so his words were a little slurred.” So, did ya see the old jail bird?  How’d she look? It’s pretty snug in those penitentiaries from what I hear – no big deal.  Did she tell you anything, spill her guts and all?”

Jettison’s teeth clenched.  “I did see Mrs. Lawrence, but I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t refer to her as a jail bird – or any other colorful term you think of.  She is a poor woman who made a…

My kids and I don’t often go to see movies but this was the second in two weeks and will be our last for awhile.  It wasn’t that Noah was bad, though it sure stirred a lot of controversy in our family, or that Captain America wasn’t thrilling, though it too stirred some serious thoughts, but in both cases I found myself struggling against a momentous sense that humanity is…

“Leroy is dead? You’ve got to be kidding!”  Bensen reached for a beer and sat down.  “I thought that ol’ man would live to be 100…99 at least.  Hey, the way Marie looked after him, he should have. She was in perfect health, of course. Marie could’ve run circles around an Olympic athlete.  She just didn’t like competition.  Too proud.”

Jettison shook his head.  “You think she was proud?  Marie never struck me that way.  Flighty, obsessed, anxiety ridden, maybe…but never proud.” …

“Dove! So good to see ya!  It’s been so long!  How long has it been?  Months?  Years?  I can’t keep track, too busy, things keeps me hopping!  Ha! Ha!  Really, you know how it is.  I think of you all the time.  Been keeping up with those kids of yours?  Where are the little…rapscallions?”

Dove had closed her eyes when she heard the car pull into the drive way.  She exhaled and threw her dish rag into the sink.  I don’t normally pray, God, well not about silly things, well not like…