If there’s a heaven on earth, it must be in northern New Mexico. Not a day passes here that a new saint isn’t made. Oh, these saints aren’t being canonized; they’ve already earned their halos. Rather, they’re being painted, carved, and polished to perfection. But then, spiritual beauty is in the eye of the santeros–the “saintmakers.”
And when the saints go marching in, the public comes out–at Traditional Spanish Market Continue reading “For Goodness Saints!”
Heavens to Betsy, getting to Paradise is easier than most people think. Paradise on earth, that is.
Paradise certainly wasn’t lost in Florida. For starters, Florida has a plain Paradise, the old-fashioned kind that doesn’t promise anything more than heaven on earth. If that’s not paradisaical enough, there’s Paradise Bay, Paradise Beach, Paradise Island, Paradise Palms, or Paradise Point, to name a few.
Another Paradise Point beckons up the coast in North Carolina. Meanwhile, there’s Paradise Falls, Pennsylvania, and Paradise Hill, Oklahoma. Every day is a heavenly day in Paradise Manor, Louisiana.
In Michigan, Paradise really does freeze over in the winter, but so does her sister to the Continue reading “Paradise Found”
What does a penny buy these days? Penny gumball machines disappeared years ago. A penny for my thoughts? As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for!” Pennies—the nonsensical change we get when something costs 99 cents and not a dollar. So, what good is a penny? It has the power to answer prayer!
Snails are fascinating. They travel through life with a house on their back. They don’t accumulate, and they don’t try to impress fellow snails with “my house is bigger than your house.”
One day I saw a snail and began thinking about a snail’s life. What would it be like to carry my house on my back? What would I use for a house? That’s easy! I already Continue reading “The House on Your Back”
Are you happy with your body? Do you think some areas need improvement? Do you ever wish you had a “little less here” and a “little more there?”
Stop and think about the design of your body. The specifications. The engineering. The maintenance functions. Then imagine what you could look like if you had rolled off an assembly line.
What if someone read the design specs wrong and put your ears on your neck? The Continue reading “What If?”
Wherever you go in New Mexico, you’ll find Spanish place names exalting God and things divine. Santa Fe—the state’s capital and the oldest capital in the United States—means Holy Faith. The Santa Cruz River is Spanish for River of the Holy Cross; the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Blood of Christ Mountains.
You’ll also find a litany of villages named for saints, including San Ysidro (Saint Isidore the Farmer), Santa Teresa (Saint Teresa of Avila), Santa Rosa (Saint Rose of Lima), and San Miguel (Saint Michael the Archangel). The town of Belén means Bethlehem.
Hearing bloopers—we’ve all had them. When we think we’ve heard somebody say something only to discover it wasn’t what they said at all! Here are a few of my bloopers over the years. It’s quite an earful to say the leash.
What began as an innocent visit by a friend’s parents almost ended up in a nudist camp. “My parents are coming this weekend,” Cheryl said one day. “It’s the only time they can come naked.” “But it’s winter,” I replied. “What does that have to do with it?” she asked. Suddenly, my ears understood. “Oh,” I said, “that’s when they can make it.”
You know the saying, “Hear no evil.” That’s especially true in church. Continue reading “Do You Hear What I Hear?”
Are pennies from heaven real? Ask Nichole Granville of Hawley, Pennsylvania, and you’ll get a resounding yes! This is the life-changing story of Nichole and her young son, Caleb.
Caleb was two years old in early 2007 when he developed a double ear infection that would not go away, remembers Nichole. Then a few days later, Nichole noticed Caleb wasn’t as steady on his feet as he normally was; his equilibrium seemed off.
When Caleb’s symptoms didn’t subside, Nichole took him back to the doctor. Caleb’s ears were still red and infected, reported the doctor, adding that a CAT scan would be ordered if he didn’t improve in a few days. Nichole took Caleb home and hugged him close. She longed to hear his infectious laugh and see the twinkle in his brown eyes.
— Marion Amberg
Copyright © 2017 Marion Amberg
