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MARCI ALBORGHETTI and her husband Charlie of New London, Connecticut, try to follow Jesus’ directive to help the poor wherever they are, whether it involves volunteering for a food pantry in northern California, supporting a homeless shelter in town, or trying to raise money for friends in Sierra Leone andsouthern India. |
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“This has been a topsy-turvy year,” writes FAY ANGUS of Sierra Madre, California, “when prayerfully laid plans seem to have gone wrong and our family has had to literally live the word trust. |
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“It’s been a hectic
year at our house, with four of the five children in school and everybody
adjusting to getting up earlier and squeezing homework into the evening schedule,” says Daily Guideposts editor ANDREW ATTAWAY of New York City. |
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“This year has seen big changes for us, with the children in school,” JULIA ATTAWAY of New York City writes. “The biggest adjustment has been adapting to having less time together. |
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“Probably without
anyone realizing it,” writes ALMA BARKMAN of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada,
“our family was living the Word at a family reunion this summer when in the manner of the Old Testament, they unveiled a special stone to mark Leo’s and my fiftieth wedding anniversary. Visit Alma's Prayer Space |
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“In our Sunday school class this quarter we’ve been talking about what it means to be a Christian—every day, in every way,” writes FRED BAUER of State College, Pennsylvania, and Englewood Beach, Florida. |
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Highlights of EVELYN BENCE’s year? “A January evening at home in Arlington, Virginia, hosting a Bleak Midwinter party. An April morning on a North Carolina beach, watching the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean. A June afternoon, sitting behind home plate at a Washington Nationals baseball game. |
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“I had to seek the
right words before I could try to live them,” says RHODA BLECKER of Bellingham, Washington. “This was a rough year because of my husband Keith’s cancer surgery and my biopsy. |
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It’s been an exciting year for MELODY BONNETTE of Mandeville, Louisiana: a new marriage, a new grandchild (beautiful blue-eyed Mia) and a new appreciation of the power of God’s Word. |
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“This year I have really struggled with doubt,” writes AMANDA BOROZINSKI of Rindge, New Hampshire. “Should I be spending more time with my family? Am I supposed to be a writer? Should I be doing more at church? |
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GINA BRIDGEMAN of
Scottsdale, Arizona, went back to work part-time at her daughter’s school.
“I really enjoy being out in the world again after so many years as a stay-at-home, working mom,” she says. |
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After six months overseas on sabbatical with her professor-husband Alex, MARY BROWN returned home to East Lansing, Michigan, to take an intensive workshop training her to tutor dyslexics. |
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It’s been an eventful
year for MARY LOU CARNEY and her family in Chesterton, Indiana. Son Brett
and his wife Stacy bought a new (old!) home at the edge of the sand dunes
bordering Lake Michigan.
Visit Mary Lou's Prayer Space |
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“This year my oldest
son Solomon started kindergarten,” says SABRA CIANCANELLI of Tivoli, New York. “Weekday afternoons my youngest Henry and I wait for the school bus. We sit on rockers on the front porch and I answer Henry’s constant question, ‘Wass-at?’ as he points to everything in sight.
Visit
Sabra's Prayer Space |
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“The older I get, the more nostalgic I become,” says a wistful MARK COLLINS of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “But I’ve learned not to be critical of everything modern. |
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“This year has been
about letting go and living the Word,” says PABLO DIAZ of Carmel, New
York. “Our family bid farewell to our sixteen-year-old schnoodle Bandit. View Pablo's Prayer Space |
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BRIAN DOYLE is the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland in Oregon. He is the author of nine books of essays and poems, most recently Thirsty for the Joy: Australian & American Voices. |
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“My life hardly looks like the life I planned for myself,” says SHARON FOSTER of Durham, North Carolina. “My family, my work and where I work are different than I dreamed. |
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“This
summer, a friend told me to read Psalm 139 out loud every day for two
weeks,” writes JULIE GARMON of Monroe, Georgia.
View Julie's Prayer Space |
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“Our community is changing rapidly,” writes OSCAR GREENE of West Medford, Massachusetts. “Longtime neighbors have relocated to the Southern states—‘Less expensive and no snow,’ they say. |
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EDWARD GRINNAN of New York City and his wife Julee Cruise have spent the last year raising a new pup, Millie, a white golden retriever. “I forgot what a handful a puppy can be, even a good one like Millie,” Edward reports. |
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“Empty nest syndrome,”
writes RICK HAMLIN. “Carol and I have finally hit that happy, albeit surprising
stage of life. (‘Are we really old enough to have all of our children
out of the house?’ we ask ourselves.)
View Rick's Prayer Space Read Rick's Blog |
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MADGE HARRAH says, “Things are going well. I’m still writing books and my husband Larry does occasional consulting work for a local materials development laboratory. |
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“More than a year after moving back East,” writes HAROLD HOSTETLER of Poughkeepsie, New York, “Carol and I are still being asked why we left Southern California. |
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If colleges can have
school songs, can individual people have them too? If so, the song you’ll
hear JEFF JAPINGA of Holland, Michigan, singing begins like this: “‘Let
all things now living a song of thanksgiving to God the Creator triumphantly
raise.’
Visit Jeff's Prayer Space |
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Moving from freelance
and temporary employment to a full-time staff position for a magazine
Web site has created a happy state of chaos in ASHLEY JOHNSON’s life. Visit Ashley's Prayer Space |
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“Life is great,” writes BROCK KIDD of Nashville, Tennessee. “My son Harrison is thriving and is rapidly approaching the third grade.” |
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PAM KIDD of Nashville, Tennessee, writes, “This year my fondest wish came true when our son Brock, our daughter Keri, her husband Ben, and our granddaughter Abby all traveled to Zimbabwe with David and me. |
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For MARILYN MORGAN
KING and her husband Robert of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, this has been a year of reconnecting with the past and welcoming the new. |
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CAROL KNAPP of Lakeville, Minnesota, writes, “God’s Word contains both lament and joy. I am learning how the two can harmonize, leading me deeper into the heart of Jesus. |
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“My husband Lynn and I just marked the two-year anniversary of our duo-diagnoses of cancer and celebrated the good results of our most recent tests,” writes CAROL KUYKENDALL of Boulder, Colorado. |
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“For the past several
weeks I’ve been meditating on Isaiah 40,” writes HELEN GRACE LESCHEID
of Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. |
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PATRICIA LORENZ is celebrating five years of life in Largo, Florida, where the wildlife, warm Gulf of Mexico waters, sensational sunsets and fabulous bike trails keep her enchanted with her adopted state. |
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After undergoing shoulder surgery and learning to deal with a painful back, DEBBIE MACOMBER of Port Orchard, Washington, has found herself living daily in God’s Word, seeking encouragement and guidance. |
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Words that ROBERTA
MESSNER of Huntington, West Virginia, encountered on the Internet this
past year—prompted, she is sure, by God Himself—set her on a new course of thinking. |
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For the past two years KEITH MILLER and his wife Andrea of Austin, Texas, have been mentoring people who want to awaken and accomplish the dreams God has put in their lives. |
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“Once a friend commented during a stressful time that hearing our son Ryan’s uplifting sermons must surely help us when facing difficult days,” says TED NACE of Poughquag, New York. |
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LINDA NEUKRUG lives in Walnut Creek, California, and spends her work-life surrounded by words in a large bookstore. “A friend told me that ninety-five percent of all conversation is misunderstood,” Linda says. |
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Three years ago REBECCA ONDOV of Hamilton, Montana, turned the crisis of her divorce, which was bound by her fears of facing the world as a middle-aged woman with no professional skills, into an opportunity to start over. |
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This year MARY ANN
O’ROARK of New York City enjoyed spending time with nephews, nieces and cousins all over the country. |
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“I read, absorb and
then live God’s Word with every hat I wear in life,” writes PATRICIA PUSEY
of Halifax, Vermont. |
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DANIEL SCHANTZ’s family is a writing family, and some of his devotionals come from his personal letters to God. |
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During summer weekends,
GAIL THORELL SCHILLING of Concord, New Hampshire, works as a docent at the Canterbury Shaker Village, where for two hundred years deeply spiritual believers created “heaven on earth” with their prayerful approach to simple tasks. |
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“For years my main
arena for living the Word was through work with United Methodist Mexican- American Ministries, a medical and social service organization,” writes PENNEY SCHWAB of Copeland, Kansas. |
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Last spring ELIZABETH
(Tib) SHERRILL of Chappaqua, New York, conducted writing workshops in New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore. “My theory was,” she says, “that if you had your eightieth birthday on the other side of the international date line, it wouldn’t count.” |
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“I went to the Far
East last spring and came home with a new perspective,” says JOHN SHERRILL
of Chappaqua, New York. |
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JOSHUA SUNDQUIST writes, “I (finally) finished school, graduating with a master’s degree in communications management from the University of Southern California. |
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JON SWEENEY of White River Junction, Vermont, writes, “I’m the busy and often exhausted father of two teenagers. |
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“Finding out I’m going to be a mother has been the most amazing and terrifying experience of my life,” says KAREN VALENTIN of New York City. “I’ve always fantasized about having a family. |
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“Our son Luke graduated this year from Samford University,” writes SCOTT WALKER of Waco, Texas. “Two days after graduation he flew to Bangkok, Thailand, to teach English for a year. |
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DOLPHUS WEARY of Richland, Mississippi, writes, “Being grandparents and keeping ‘Lil Reggie’ every weekend is very challenging, but it is a great part of our healing process. |
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“This has been a year of adventure in many ways,” writes BRIGITTE WEEKS of New York City. “My liking for praying with my hands as well as my heart has helped to build part of a house in New Orleans and has created my first Aran sweater, completed—after many false starts and dropped stitches—for my oldest grandson Benjamin. |
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“This year, I begged God to get my twin sons Jon and Jeremy to places of safety,” writes MARION BOND WEST of Watkinsville, Georgia, “where they could pursue lives of integrity—drug free. |
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BRENDA WILBEE lives by the sea in Birch Bay, Washington, where she writes and for the past year has worked as a graphic designer. |
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It has been a year
of changes for KJERSTIN WILLIAMS and her husband Travis. They bought their first home and moved to Los Angeles where they began new jobs: Kjerstin as a robotics engineer and Travis as a chemistry professor. |
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“Living the Word means praising God for every passage of life, even when we aren’t ready for that passage,” writes TIM WILLIAMS of Durango, Colorado. |
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“Visiting the Holy Land is truly living the Word,” says ISABEL WOLSELEY of Syracuse, New York, following her trip to Israel, Egypt, Turkey and Patmos. |
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“It’s been a year
of challenges and changes in our family,” says PHILIP ZALESKI of Northampton, Massachusetts. “My mother moved from New York City, where she has spent nearly all her life, into a nursing home near us. |
