Janet's Blog

In case you've been hiding under a rock, I want to make sure you know that the eclipse is coming. THE ECLIPSE! You know, next Monday's nearly sacred event, when the moon will blot out the sun for two whole minutes, give or take a few seconds--that is, if you live along the path that bisects the U.S. from coast to coast. I live right on the path. Here in Gering, in the Nebraska panhandle, we can expect about a minute and a half of total eclipse, with partial eclipse lasting for more than an hour on either side of the 11:49 a.m. magic minute. A few miles north of us, people will experience two and a half minutes of totality.  Click here to see exact starting and ending times for our area. It's exciting, for sure. The last time a total eclipse bisected the US from the Pacific to the Atlantic was 99 years ago, in 1918. Since then, there have been a couple of total solar eclipses that covered far fewer states, and several more partial eclipses, but nothing like thi...

I love my pond! Ever since I was a little girl, peering, with Aunt Marilyn, into Grandpa and Grandma's tiny, front yard pond, I've been fascinated with ponds and fish and water--the entire package has always brought me joy. So, I was thrilled to find that this house had a backyard pond, a seven-by-seven foot square, concrete hole in the ground, three feet deep, painted light blue. It was quite an eyesore, and it didn't hold water any more, but it certainly had potential. Meagan was 13, I think, when she and our friend, Mark, helped me reconstruct the pond. We researched and gathered materials, and worked for hours in the hot summer sun, stacking concrete blocks in the bottom of the pond to create stair-stepped layers, then layering sand and sheets of Styrofoam insulation, before stretching a flexible pond liner over the square hole, and adding hundreds of gallons of cold water. What a thrill it was to watch the water rise up the sides of the pond, molding the liner into p...

It was 1979. Bill and I were living near Traverse City, Michigan, where I taught morning Kindergarten at Trinity Lutheran School. Our friend, and Bill's business partner, Skip, asked me if I would be interested in being the secretary for the Jesus Film Project in Grand Traverse County. As Skip explained it to me, the Jesus Film was a powerful new movie that was being shown in theaters throughout the country for the first time, including in Traverse City. In our community, as in many others, a group of churches was sponsoring and publicizing the showing. I thought about it, prayed about it, and even discussed it with my principal, as well as with Bill, before saying "yes" to the volunteer position. You see, the Lutheran Church (LCMS) did not often participate in any ecumenical endeavors, so it was a stretch for my principal to consider my proposed extracurricular activity. Surprisingly, perhaps, he had no objections, and neither did Bill, so I began to spend my afternoon...

It was my favorite outfit that year, when I was a sixth grader. I wore it often, that gold corduroy jumper that Mom had made for me, and the hand-me-down, pink polka-dotted, white blouse. It's hard to tell from this old, faded photo, but the inch-wide polka dots were bright pink. The jumper was warm and soft, and the long-sleeved blouse fit reasonably well. I didn't realize at the time, or even care, that the jumper and blouse didn't go well together at all. In fact, they clashed terribly! No one made fun of me, at least not to my face. I was just glad that no one ever mentioned the glasses that I thought were so ugly. Individual quirkiness was tolerated a bit better, back then, than it is now, especially in Fairbury, Nebraska. Oh, our school had its share of cliques, but we all treated each other with respect, for the most part. I suspect that most kids of that era wore home-sewn clothes and hand-me-downs from time to time. When I was in late elementary school...

When you hurt, I hurt. When I hear what has happened, I grieve with you. When I see your pain, I wish I could remove it. I can't help it. I'm old enough to understand the ramifications. I know that you will have to work through your grief by yourself. And I know that, no matter how much I want to, I can't change that. It hurts to see your emotional trauma, your changed life. It hurts me when someone you have loved so much is suddenly gone from this world forever. Death doesn't play favorites; everyone dies eventually. But some people die much too soon, leaving their families behind to pick up the pieces. It doesn't seem fair. It just isn't right. I was reminded recently that the sudden death of someone who has lived a long, fruitful life can be more traumatic than expected for those left behind, when that active, recently healthy, loved one was expected to live to be a hundred. But nothing compares to a husband's trauma when his wife is suddenly gone, vi...

A friend of mine died this week, unexpectedly, far too soon, leaving her family and friends in shock. When something like that happens, I pray. I can't really do anything else. I can't erase her death or ease her family's pain, but I can ask God to give his comfort and peace. And, I know that he hears my prayers, and promises to answer. I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.  Psalm 17:6    I've noticed that many people are prompted to pray when a loved one dies. As self-sufficient as we may think we are, we can't prevent death. Since sin entered the world, everyone dies of something, sooner or later. The sudden death of someone close to us often draws us nearer to God, because we realize that he is the only one who can do anything at all about death. In fact, he already did something pretty amazing, when he sent Jesus to die for our sins, and rise again in triumph over death. So, we have hope of eternal life w...

When I was a very little girl, I loved to eat a bowl of sliced bananas, sprinkled with a teaspoonful of sugar and drenched in fresh cream, straight from the separator. Bananas were cheap, and cream was plentiful, so it's no wonder I learned to love my bananas and cream. Years later, bananas are still inexpensive, still used as a loss leader in every grocery store in the USA. Perhaps you don't know what a "loss leader" is, and I certainly don't know why I remember such a trivial bit of vocabulary, but a loss leader is a product sold, at a loss, to attract customers. Store managers figured out, long ago, that people who go to a particular store to buy cheap bananas are very likely to buy other, more expensive groceries while they are at the store. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a simple bowl of sliced bananas and cream. The last time, after we left the farm, Mom poured a little half-and-half, a commercially produced mixture of milk and cream, from the...