Soul Carving

       A few weeks ago, I received an email from an observant neighbor who thought my children might enjoy an upcoming activity at a nearby Hospital. Children were to bring their stuffed animals for a hands-on tour through the facility. They'd be given trinkets at each stop and served lunch afterwards. The event was free! It sounded too good to be true. The kids were enthusiastic when I told them about the activity. So on the appointed day, we packed into the minivan and headed up to the Hospital where over half of them had been born!     We arrived only a few minutes past the starting time. When we approached the main entrance, we were told to go around the other side of the building - the tour started in Labor and Delivery. Rounding the corner of the building, we could see 2 large pavilions set up where volunteers were busily filing people through, as they allowed visitors into the hospital a few batches at a time. And stretched in a never-ending line a...

       I'm planning on hiking 3 miles with the youth in my church family this weekend. I'm not accustomed to hiking, and I didn't want to be huffing and puffing the whole way, so in anticipation,I've been rising earlier than usual this past week to take a brisk 1 mile walk each morning. I've thoroughly enjoyed it,and the timing has worked out so conveniently - a real rarity in life with a newborn! I've gotten to know some of my neighbors better, meeting them on the walkways, sometimes trotting alongside each other for a mile. I've looked forward to my walk eagerly each morning. . . until today.        My body was an aching mess. I'd spent too many hours in the sun the previous day and then too many more on the computer doing homework that night. The canker sore forming on the tip of my tongue was a tale-tell sign that I hadn't been eating as healthily as I ought, and the back of my neck and legs were suffering from an itchy sunburn. Maybe I could...