natalie’s blog

This has long been one of my favorite poems. It never ceases to inspire me whenever I reread its timeless message: The Bridge Builder An old man, going a lone highway, Came, at the evening, cold and gray, To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide, Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old [...]

Last week I began teaching a speech class to my three youngest siblings. One of the things we discussed is how the Lord will bring situations into our lives where it will be important for us to know how to communicate effectively with others. My challenge to them for the week was to be aware [...]

This morning, an influential Christian apologist, who has also co-authored a couple of books, was the guest speaker at the church we attended in Colorado. He was an excellent and captivating speaker and I appreciated much of what he had to say. One statement he made, though, particularly caught my attention. In response to a [...]

My 11-year old sister, Naomi, enjoys both writing and speaking and has for several years now written a short speech to share with the rest of the family on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year were both very low-key and relaxing. Following our traditional dinner of hors d’oeuvres and the yearly search [...]

This beautifully balanced description of the heroic women of America past is both refreshing and inspiring: “They were courageous without being authoritative. They were sympathetic, compassionate and considerate of the feelings of others without being driven by their emotions or obsessed with their feelings. They enjoyed being feminine and beautiful without being slaves to fashion [...]

Every time I take a few moments to read the Voice of the Martyrs monthly magazine, it is a tremendous blessing and challenge to me. In the December issue, Director Tom White shares an illustration about an anchor. He says, “An anchor does not hold the ship simply because it is heavy. The anchor must [...]

In a couple of weeks my Mom and I will be hosting our second annual Neighborhood Ladies Christmas Tea. In preparation for the occasion, I am preparing a talk titled The Meaning of Life that I plan to share with the ladies. I keep coming up with more and more things that I want to [...]

John 15:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. The dilemma for me in this statement is that it appears that Jesus is using circular reasoning [...]

A full 48 hours with no Internet connection! I almost didn’t survive… I spent last weekend at our annual state music teachers conference. Now that I’m home, I’m trying to catch up with everything. As I read through all the updates at The Rebelution from the SAICFF, I was especially struck by this synopsis of [...]

For years I’ve heard and read the numerous passages in the Bible, especially throughout Proverbs, that address knowledge. Especially this one: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” Proverbs 1:7. But only recently have I begun to realize more fully the implication of such verses. God is the all-knowing One; the Creator [...]

The man drove at a reckless speed down the highway. As he drove, he looked with disdain upon the other drivers who seemed to merely inch along compared to his attempts to reach mach 1 in an automobile. “Don’t they realize what they are capable of?” he questioned. “Don’t they see how much more ground [...]

Do you notice anything wrong with the following verse? “Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and inquireth of the local bank whether he doth qualify for a loan. Once he hastily listeth all his [...]

“Really?” Joey looked up at me intently as a grin spread quickly across his face. “Naomi!” he turned and called, “Natalie said she’d play ping-pong with us – come on!” I asked Naomi if they were done playing ping-pong. “Not if you’ll play,” was her eager reply. Aww, how sweet. I couldn’t believe how ready [...]

Imagine that you go out for a walk on a cold night. As you stroll along an empty road, you enjoy the crisp air, even as the temperature continues to drop. All of a sudden, a car crests the top of the hill in front of you. The bright lights blare down on you full [...]

At 5:30 a.m., we’ll be off! Nicole’s wedding is this Saturday, so we’re making our way to Wisconsin today to have a day to prepare and set-up before the wedding. (It was absolutely not my idea to leave this early…it was Andy’s – my soon-to-be-brother-in-law. His family usually leaves at 3:30 in the morning, so [...]

In light of a comment (thank you to whoever posted – it helped me think through this issue in more depth!) posted in response to my post on the ID Movement, I want to clarify a few things. First, let me say that I believe in a literal 7-day Creation as recorded in the book [...]

It’s the compliment that ranks toward the top of the list for most people these days. To hear the utterance of these few words, the soul is flooded with a sense of accomplishment, of self-worth, of purpose. And yet the very thing which procures from others this admiration is that which will be our own [...]

Did you know that it is impossible to fear something that will not affect you? I could go even a step further and ask, did you know that it is impossible to fear something that you do not acknowledge as having the potential to affect you? Just think about it. Can you think of any [...]

You’d think after years of being a Christian, sharing my faith with someone would come easily. But I confess, as I approached the doors of the mall yesterday my stomach was tied in knots and I held firmly to my pad of paper and pen in an attempt to at least reduce the visibility of [...]

He had been, no doubt, the embarrassment of all of his neighbors for years. He had long since rejected the propriety of wearing any form of clothing. His life was aimless and he was destined to die a crazy old man. Until…the day he saw Jesus. He would never be the same again. Jesus freed [...]