Pencil in His Hand: A Mother's Journal of Stories, Thoughts, and Poems.

  Salvation  Stories: Gina Gina hummed a chorus from church as she gathered all the needed supplies together: a deep baking pan, flour, sugar, cocoa, oil, and eggs, along with the other sundries she needed to make a sumptuous celebration cake.  Great ! She had everything on hand. She decided to top the cake off with a creamy butter icing and some bright red cherries once it had cooled. As she worked, she sang every worship song she knew, and even did a couple of twirls. It was a good, good day. A great day. And the cake was just right. When they were all gathered around the table later, Gina planned to tell them why they were eating cake in the middle of the week. It wasn't anyone's birthday after all. No, wait! She laughed out loud. She was celebrating her spiritual birthday. After many years of thinking that being good, going to church now and again, and volunteering at the soup kitchen could get her into heaven, she was free! Born again, and made new. Yes, she still p...

  Salvation Stories: Heather Heather loved nothing more than to pull her old gumboots on, don her floppy hat, and head out to the garden. She'd always preferred being outdoors as a child, and now, although in her fifties, she still felt the need to get out of the house at least twice a day. As she tugged her dilapidated straw hat over her graying curls, the sun was just kissing the tops of the fruit trees. Heavenly! Not that Heather believed in Heaven or in God for that matter. Her faith was in science; in the theory of evolution, and in the resourcefulness of man. Yet, recently, her thinking had begun to shift, albeit very slowly and haltingly. The more she worked in her garden, the more she had doubts. Just yesterday, she had happened across a new butterfly in one of her flower beds, its wings delicately opened in the sunshine, displayed an intricate and charming pattern. Heather recognized the work of an artist in those amazing wings. That morning, she'd made an even more st...