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Telling the Story: Spending time with the Nativity
A decades-old nearly life-sized Nativity set needed to be repainted. I volunteered all the artsy people I knew to do it; I would help, too. I’m no artist, but I thought it would be like a humungous paint by number: not too difficult, it would just take some time. My first job was to prep…
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Telling the Story: Trusting when you can’t see
Even when we can’t feel it, God is working. Even when we can’t see it, God has a plan. Those truths are obvious when you look at the X-ray of a child’s tooth. The baby tooth is easy to see, but just above or below it in the X-ray, depending on the location, you can…
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Telling the Story: Thanksgiving and ‘Thanks-living’
When our pastor, Steve Rice, preached a sermon about “Thanks-living” instead of “Thanks-giving” decades ago, I teased him mercilessly. We were dear friends; it’s what friends do. It was “Happy Thanks-living” this and “Happy Thanks-living” that. (I wasn’t nearly as mature as I am now.) I worked the word “Thanks-living” into every conversation. In his…
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Telling the Story: Sharing pie and God’s Word
I didn’t want to share my pie. That sounds terrible, but it was blackberry—my very favorite. While Mr. and Mrs. Walker gave it to my beloved for pastor appreciation, I knew it was actually for me because they know it’s my favorite. My beloved doesn’t like the seeds, so it was all mine. It’s one…
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Telling the Story: The Ball Fork Monster
In the land of the Hatfields and McCoy’s, we have many stories. Some are true, some not. A nearly famous tale told in the mountains of eastern KY at this time of year is of The Ball Fork Monster. There are many versions. This is the one I know. “Blue Eyes” was a likable fellow…
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Telling the Story: Following the guide
“They just put a deer head in the back of the car.” Not a usual text to my kids. Still, it was true. I could see antlers sticking out of the bag. My beloved had killed his first deer (an eight-point) and was having it processed. The body was at the butcher being prepped to…
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Telling the Story: Not here for all that
Five-year-old Ryleigh and her older sister, Maddie, came to the office last week to have their teeth cleaned. When it was their turn, we called their names and they skipped back in festive Halloween attire. Ryleigh was decked out in a purple and black dress with bats on the skirt. Her ankle boots set off…
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Telling the Story: He’s been faithful
There’s a picture hanging in the parsonage that wouldn’t mean anything to you. It’s not fancy, not a Monet, a Picasso, or even a Russell May. In it, a woman stands at a flower cart. A horse-drawn carriage travels a dirt path in the background behind her. The peach colors and muted hues hint that…
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Telling the Story: Use all of your resources
Sarah York’s voice runs through my head several times a day, not in a creepy way, but in an inspirational, motivational way. “Use all of your resources,” she keeps telling me. Sarah, also a pastor’s wife, is a treasured friend and was knitted to my heart when we met. Though we’ve only known each other…
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Telling the Story: On the back burner
I’m a tea lover. Every morning I brew a delicious concoction of green and black tea to drink throughout the day. I bring water to a boil and steep tea bags for several minutes for optimum flavor. Usually, the sound lets me know it’s getting ready. I can hear the water molecules bouncing off each…
Tag: Dawn Reed
