We’ve been delighted with the flurry of Baltimore Orioles visiting our bird feeders this year. My oldest son laughed when he learned that they like to eat orange slices and grape jelly. When we noticed them drinking out of the hummingbird feeders, we wondered why they had such a sweet tooth. Orioles, Grosbeaks, and HummingbirdsContinue reading “For the Birds”
Category Archives: Devils Lake Journal
Cleansed or Consumed?
Many men work hard for spiritual cleansing. Some stoke the fire. Some bring large stones to place in the fire. Once the stones are hot, still other men remove them from the fire and pour water over them to create a great storehouse of steam. They bathe in the steam they have created, hoping theirContinue reading “Cleansed or Consumed?”
Seed Potential
A seed almost gets lost in the palm of my hand. It is so small, but its potential and purpose are great. If the seed never germinates, it will never fulfil the purpose for which it was created. It will always stay the small, seemingly insignifcant piece of organic matter. However, if the seed isContinue reading “Seed Potential”
Life, Death, and Charlotte’s Web
When author E.B. White recorded the audiobook version of his classic children’s story Charlotte’s Web, it took him seventeen tries to record the scene where Charlotte, the spider, dies. He would begin weeping. The producer would stop the recording. They would take a walk outside and then come back and try it again. Seventeen tries.Continue reading “Life, Death, and Charlotte’s Web”
When Empty Gets Full
The time I encountered a bear while hiking, empty space mattered. I froze, calculating the distance between the bear and me, the space I judged I could throw a peanut butter cracker, and the speed at which bears can cross empty space. When the good samaritans who rescued me drove me further down the mountainContinue reading “When Empty Gets Full”
Steamed Clean
Last week, a young man in a black hoodie steam cleaned all the chairs at church. I’m embarrassed to tell you how filthy the chairs were. Five years of spaghetti dinners and Vacation Bible Schools accumulated in real time. The cleaner’s hoodie reads, “Left it in the Waters.” His sister gave it to him whenContinue reading “Steamed Clean”
Sour, Like Milk
The kids and I celebrated the end of our school year with a trip to the local dairy. The folks there transform delicious, creamy milk into many flavors of gelato and cheese. Milk, when it is good, is very good, and when it is bad, it is, well, sour. When milk goes sour at ourContinue reading “Sour, Like Milk”
What can we do?
I have a nine year old. It’s been an emotional week as we’ve watched the smiling faces of other nine year olds, lost in a horrific murder, roll across our screens. What can we do to protect our children? What can we give them to prepare for such a world? We need to give ourContinue reading “What can we do?”
It’s the Little Things
Overcoming Evil One Note at a Time
A friend came to tune our piano. It was a lengthy process, as our piano has not been tuned for the entire time we’ve owned it. Each key had to be tuned to the tone it was designed to play, in addition to being tuned to its fellow keys. The tuner worked meticulously with aContinue reading “Overcoming Evil One Note at a Time”
Sarah Dixon Young 