Donna Jackson
Do You Hear What I Hear?
For two years, I passed the audiologist’s hearing test with flying colors, but I still couldn’t hear Ron from across the room. Dinners with friends in noisy restaurants made following conversations increasingly frustrating. Our TV’s Closed Caption became our default setting, yet doctors said my hearing was normal. I knew something wasn’t right; I just…
The Best Day Ever!
“This is the best day ever!” Those words frequently flow from the mouth of my oldest granddaughter whenever anything out of the ordinary occurs. Jessa has always been easy to impress. Simply easing down the highway, slurping a whipped cream-topped milkshake gives her the “happys.” This past Thanksgiving was, for me, the best day ever!…
Thanks in Squirrely Times
Learning the proper use of nouns and verbs in English class comes easily for most fifth graders. Spot jumped. Jane ran. Jack laughed. Easy peasy, right? Yet, throw in a few adjectives, adverbs, and some pesky prepositions, and watch things get a little squirrely. That is until you remind them that a preposition is merely…
The Audience of Your Life
We watched several clips Sunday morning from the movie “One Life.” It tells the story of Nicholas Winton, a British man who helped 669 Jewish refugee children escape the German invasion of Czechoslovakia just before World War II. These children had no way of saving themselves; they needed an intercessor to make a way for…
Until We Change
“Please read just one more story” became my daughter’s common bedtime plea. But my son wanted “just five more minutes” of lining up Matchbook cars on the rug before I tucked him in. Both of them vehemently resisted early bedtimes that allowed them to wake refreshed and ready for school the next morning. So, I…
It Just Means More
In 2016, the Southeastern Conference sought to rebrand itself with an ad campaign touting the slogan, “It just means more.” Their first-ever TV spot shared many reasons why: “It means the heart of the home. The heart of campus, in the heart of town, in the heart of an entire state … It means all…
Travel On!
Mark Keathley’s painting “Mountain Glory” overlooks our living room. Occasionally, I take a deep breath, sit back, and step into that painting to stare at the scene before me. Clusters of perky purple flowers stand at attention beneath my feet. Stacks of cold, gray rocks poke their heads up through the greenness all around me.…
Our Topsy-Turvy World
I’m glad to see you again. It’s been a while. The last four months have been spent working on a special project that I hope to share with you soon. God has been working hard, teaching me to hold onto joy and peace during chaotic circumstances! Today, topsy-turvy is the best way some describe their…
Slow Somedays
John Fogerty wrote Credence Clearwater Revival’s hit song, “Someday Never Comes.” The 70s song begins with: “First thing I remember was asking Papa, ‘Why?’ For there were many things I didn’t know. And Daddy always smiled, took me by the hand, saying, ‘Someday, you’ll understand.’” Fogerty’s impatient longing for “Someday” continues throughout the song’s verses, but…