January 14, 2019 Getting ready for a cruise. Is there anything more fun than preparing for a cruise on the Caribbean? Sometimes, God gives me a wink and opens the opportunity for me to do just that. But although the fun, the sun, gourmet food, the shows and visits to exotic islands describe a cruise, …
December 21, 2018 MY recent house guests were my brother and his wife. With their help, my house came alive with red and green decorations. Time to Eat Once we placed the angel on the tree top, I announced, “We’ll have a delicious, home-cooked dinner.” “Sounds great,” they said. But as dinner time got closer, …
December 7, 2018 How can it happen? Whether we’re in a crowd or in the darkness of a silent room the battle to overcome loneliness begins. I was stunned. CNN reported yesterday that among thousands of entries, my hometown, La Paz, Bolivia, where I was born and spent my childhood was named the No. 1 …
November 23, 2018 Last week I sat across the examining bed where my 90-year-old Mom waited for the doctor. After a complete check-up, the nurse came in with a device to measure her eye pressure. A simple procedure that took seconds. But the results nearly knocked me off my chair. “Hmmm,” the nurse said, “the …
November 16, 2018 “I think I’m about to lose my job,” a friend told me, “The writing is on the wall.” God has a plan for your life. “Goodness, I’m so sorry,” I said. “If that happens, just remember that God has a plan for your life.” After a long pause he said, “I …
October 19, 2018 After I delivered a message on courage to few hundred women, I stood on stage, wireless mic in hand and with a smile of delight I answered questions from the audience. Here’s one of them. What is the most daring thing you did after you lost your sight? Hmmm…should I or shouldn’t …
October 12, 2018 “It was a devastating car accident,” a member of the Bible study said. “The healing was miraculous. “I had broken bones. They healed with no need for casts. I had cuts on my face. They healed with no scars. And doctors said I would lose my teeth as they had turned gray …
October 5, 2018 During a recent trip, I held the arm of the flight attendant guiding me to my seat inside the airplane. “Here’s your seat, Mrs. Eckles,” she said. Not the bulkhead seat! After I settled in, I realized that, UGH! I was in the “bulkhead” seat. That meant there was no seat in …
September 7, 2018 “I didn’t know any better,” I whispered to my friend seated beside me. We took turns around the table sharing silly stories about our younger days. And when I told a few details about how, in my twenties, I belly danced for exercise, some giggled. Others gasped in surprise. Although I never …
August 24, 2018 I fought the tears. “I can’t believe it,” I wrote as a reply to a colleague of mine some years back. “Yes,” she said, “the company is downsizing and is laying off all in our level.” My stomach cramped. My job as an over-the-phone interpreter wasn’t actually “work” for me; it was …