Lost Wedding Rings

Because pushing my husband in a wheelchair and pulling him around the house in his potty chair since he can’t walk has increased the size of my knuckles, I can no longer wear my wedding ring. My husband lost so much weight over the five months he spent in the hospital that his wedding ring was too large—and he lost it. So neither of us wear our wedding rings—but the missing wedding rings do not mean that we are not still married. The rings were merely a symbol of our marriage. A label.

Changing labels does not change reality.

William Shakespeare perhaps said it best in 1595 when he wrote ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Changing the name of the flower does not change the rose.

Geologists often abandon BC—Before Christ, and AD—After Christ’s Death, for BP—Before the Present. Astrologists often replace BC and AD with CE for Common Era and BCE for Before Common Era. These new labels do not negate the fact that we celebrate Christmas as the time that Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, came to earth to live as a man and experience everything we experience so He could understand our trials and temptations and deliver us from them, and so that we could see our God in human flesh. It does not negate the fact that more than 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ died on a cross and was sealed away in a tomb that could not hold Him. He is Risen. Christians have no grave to visit and reverence. We have an empty tomb.

Labels are tricky things. Easy to change—but impossible to change.

God’s immutability: “It is impossible for God to lie. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.”

Don’t let human applied labels and criticism wear you down. You are fearfully and wonderfully made and God loves you and has a plan and purpose for you.

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

Moss Blooms – Elephants Don’t

While walking our collie dog, I was astonished to see blooms on clumps of moss growing on rock fences. I never knew moss bloomed. The fragile spear-topped stalks opened up miniature magic for viewing—a minuscule journey into a tiny parallel world.

And I thought: moss blooms. Elephants don’t. Yet both reproduce their kind and exist on this beautiful wide planet that God made. And that’s the point.

The theory of evolution cannot explain this wonder, nor can the big bang theory. But God? The infinite and precise creations of an intelligent Creator with a design and a plan—that explains it. How can anyone study the miniature world of a clump of moss and touch an elephant—and believe they were haphazard happenings. That takes more faith than I have.

I looked up moss blooms. Scientists say they are not actually blooms, and moss does not have flowers. They have an explanation; the “blooms” are spores. Spores are not seeds and produce no flowers.

But many of these same scientists also discount creation and herd academics and anyone else they can bend to fit into their agendas into accepting their theories of a big bang and evolution. I will stick to moss blooms and elephants.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:1

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

Moss Blooms – Elephants Don’t

While walking our collie dog, I was astonished to see blooms on clumps of moss growing on rock fences. I never knew moss bloomed. The fragile spear-topped stalks opened up miniature magic for viewing—a minuscule journey into a tiny parallel world.

And I thought: moss blooms. Elephants don’t. Yet both reproduce their kind and exist on this beautiful wide planet that God made. And that’s the point.

The theory of evolution cannot explain this wonder, nor can the big bang theory. But God? The infinite and precise creations of an intelligent Creator with a design and a plan—that explains it. How can anyone study the miniature world of a clump of moss and touch an elephant—and believe they were haphazard happenings. That takes more faith than I have.

I looked up moss blooms. Scientists say they are not actually blooms, and moss does not have flowers. They have an explanation; the “blooms” are spores. Spores are not seeds and produce no flowers.

But many of these same scientists also discount creation and herd academics and anyone else they can bend to fit into their agendas into accepting their theories of a big bang and evolution. I will stick to moss blooms and elephants.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:1

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

One Raindrop Does Not a Storm Make

Savannah needed brushing. She can’t be brushed when her coat is wet—and since it rains here in Dunoon nearly every day—accomplishing that chore is difficult, especially given the large amount of time that it takes to care for husband Alan, who cannot walk.

Recently, I set out with brushes, a comb, and a short leash, and took Savannah down to the edge of the River Clyde to brush her so that her loose fur would fly away with the wind—and hopefully be used by birds this spring for their nests.

On the way to the brushing place, a drop of rain hit my nose. I looked up into the unrelenting grey sky and nearly turned around and returned to the car. I figured that by the time I reached the intended location the sky would have opened up and drenched us. However, I finished brushing Savannah before the rain started. Then I stopped to get a cappuccino to take home to Alan. The sweet barista would not charge me for the drink and gave it to me for free. Blessings I would have missed had I let the possibility of rain stop me.

One drop of rain does not a storm make. How often do we miss blessings by giving up and stopping too soon?

“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.” Ecclesiastes 11:4

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

For Reals!

Growing up in the South, USA, we did not have holly bushes. We didn’t have snow either—or at least very rarely—but I loved Christmas cards with the deep green leaves and red holly berries, and when I drew my own Christmas cards I always included holly leaves and berries.

When I came to Scotland, I was delighted to find holly shrubs. In fact, we had one growing in our yard. And a friend of ours who hosted weekly Bible studies had an amazing holly tree tunnel in her yard. But, alas…no berries. No berries at Christmas, no berries in the spring, no berries in the summer, no berries in the fall—no berries at all. Remembering all the Christmas cards I had designed and drawn around holly berries—it was disappointing.

Today when I walked Savannah, I faced off with depression. It was grey. Grey is a nice color—but across the entire sky day after day? It was cold. I hate cold. My fingers were numb, my nose stung, the wind threw cold raindrops into my face. I wanted to be home in Texas. In fact, any place warm. But both of my sisters in the U.S. are battling serious health issues and I want to be there with them. Plus I developed some pesky heart symptoms—considering the fact that I need to stay alive at the moment to take care of husband Alan who can’t walk and fur baby Savannah who can’t walk herself—and I was scheduled for bloods, blood pressure, and an ECG on Friday.

As I walked into the wind making a brave attempt to praise God for everything—I spotted it. A tiny red berry on a holly bush. One red berry. It was enough to raise me up to praise and gratitude. Holly shrubs really did have red berries! All those Christmas cards I had faithfully drawn year after year were truthful, not deceitful.

Reflecting on my joy at finding one red holly berry made me think about how one genuine smile could lift the spirits of another person and restore hope and gratitude in their lives.

I’ve spent the rest of the day smiling. One little red holly berry started it.

God says in His Word, “My fruit is better than gold.” Proverbs 8:19.

Sometimes that fruit is a little red holly berry. Or a smile.

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

Kindness in Dunoon, Scotland

The news media is filled with horrible images and stories about atrocities in the world. Yet, there is kindness.

Because husband Alan can no longer walk we do a lot of traveling with him in a wheelchair. Everywhere we go, folks here in Dunoon, Scotland, wrap us in kindness. If Savannah’s leash gets caught in one of the back wheels and I have to help Alan out of the chair and have him hold something while I turn the chair upside down to free the leash—I get shouldered out of the way by eager helpers. Strangers not only take over coaxing the leash out of the chair—they also support Alan as he stands waiting to get back into his chair.

There is chaos in the world, but there is also kindness.

At the entrance to every shop, someone opens the door. They often come in twos or threes and hold Savannah while I maneuver the chair inside, and hold the door open, and tug on the front of the chair to help me get it over the hump. If it’s a restaurant, they run ahead of us and move chairs out of the way so we can get through.

In spite of all that is wrong with the world, there is also kindness.

When Alan spent five months in the hospital, a lovely couple from our church walked Savannah for me every day while I visited Alan in the hospital. Other people in the neighborhood also offered. Friends dropped by to visit him and our church even held a service in the hospital for him.

In a world of hurt, hate, and anger—there is also kindness.

It rains here in Dunoon almost daily. It is 40 degrees colder than my Texas blood likes. When my son Luke was stationed in Hawaii he called excited by the beauty around him. “Mom, everything green has a bloom on it and it is always the perfect temperature.”

The climate is miserable in Dunoon, Scotland, yet there is beauty.

When I am tempted to whine and complain, I remember Luke’s words. Then I tell myself that Dunoon is like a cold climate Hawaii. Everything is vibrant green and almost every green thing has a bloom on it.

It’s amazing how gratitude and thankfulness can transform the world around us and how much kindness there is if we just look for it.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

Guardian Angels Rock

Guardian Angels Rock. I hope everyone in the world has guardian angels as good and as skilled as mine.

We’ve had two to three weeks of nearly constant gale-force winds and sometimes blinding rain here in our part of Scotland. The wind has been strong enough to move things. A few nights ago when I walked Savannah during a lull in the storm I tripped over a large roll of chain link fence that had blown into the sidewalk. With streetlights out, it was invisible. I’ve had a back surgery, a knee replacement, and a hip replacement. Falling is not medically recommended. My guardian angel caught me and kept me upright. I was so close to going down that I still don’t know how he did it.

Today, I went to turn out of the parking lot into the main street and a car that did not have its turn signal on abruptly cut directly in front of me. I missed it by mere inches. Then I drove up the steep hill toward our road and a dog ran out into my lane of traffic. (A lot of fences are down.) I had to come to a complete stop to keep from hitting it. Whew! Good job, Guardian Angel. Thank you.

When son Luke was nine, we went exploring in the Nevada desert in our little Ford Courier pickup truck. “Mom, stop,” Luke warned as I took a winding dirt road along a deep gully. “You’re going to get stuck.”

Being the parent—I was right. Right? Being the parent—I was in control. Right? Wrong. The back wheels skid off the road going around a steep bend and slipped down the hill half-way to the bottom. Oops! No one even knew where we were—and cell phones hadn’t been invented back then. Luke and I prayed. Then we began walking through the trackless desert back the way we had come. An old man on a walking stick met us and asked what happened. I explained. “Stay with your truck,” he instructed. “I’ll be right back to pull you out.”

When God answers a prayer—He answers in a big way. The man came back in a dump truck and pulled us out. A couple of days later, Luke and I baked cookies and bought a thank you card to take to him. We couldn’t find him. No house, no driveway, no dump truck…nothing but miles of empty desert. God had sent us an angel—who drove a dump truck.

Years later here in Scotland, I was in Inverness waiting for a bus to go to the retail shopping center to get the only kind of food and dog treats that our collie Angel Joy could eat because she had been ill. It was a freezing day of sleet and snow. I had moved from Texas to Scotland—and had not adjusted to the 40-degree drop in temperature. (Truth be told—I still haven’t.) There were so many people waiting for buses at the bus stop that I couldn’t even shelter under the roof with everyone else. I was so cold and miserable that I honestly felt like forgetting everything and just going home. Before I could act on that impulse, a bus chugged up and stopped—not in front of the bus stop—but in front of me. It looked like a bus from a third-world country. It was not painted the color of the Inverness City buses and it was old and battered. It looked like the bus out of the 1964 “Moon Spinners” movie starring Hayley Mills and set in Crete. I was amazed that none of the other people headed for the bus. There was no sign on the front of the bus indicating where it was going. The door opened. “Do you go to the retail park?” I asked. The driver smiled at me. “Anywhere you want to go, little lady.”

I was the only person on the bus. Briefly, I wondered if I were being kidnapped—but who would kidnap me? I wasn’t worth any money. For just a few coins, the bus rattled off down the street and deposited me at the retail center a few minutes later. I never saw that bus in Inverness again. Some angels drive buses.

Not everyone believes in angels. Sad. Their guardian angels must not be as good as mine.

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.”Psalm 91:11.

“So not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” Hebrews 13:2.

You never know where you’ll meet angels. Some drive heavy equipment.

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

Diamonds for Death

Widow Lila Sparrow moved into a large nest on the edge of a tree branch overlooking a meadow. She had barely moved into the nest when a gale approached from the north.

The other birds, who had nests further back in the strand of trees worried about her. “Come stay with us,” they invited, “until the wind calms down.”

Lila stuck her beak into the air. “Don’t try to trick me,” she said. “I’m too smart for you. I’ve always had ugly little nests before. I’ve always wanted a fine home to show everyone how smart and beautiful I am. This is the best nest in this little forest and everyone wants it. If I fly out to stay with you, someone will rush in and steal my new home.” So Lila stayed in her nest even as gale-force winds thrashed the tree limbs and striped the few remaining leaves off the winter-stricken tree. Deep in the forest, the other birds visited with one another and sang cheerfully through the strong wind—but Lila was too afraid to sing.

After the gale blew itself out, the birds came to Lila and invited her to the flying games in the forest. “It’s an aerial obstacle course,” they explained, “and the winner is the bird who completes it in the least amount of time. After the games, we will hold a treasure hunt in the woods. The winner will be the one who finds and collects the largest number of dried-up blackberries. Then we will have a picnic together.”

Lila stuck her beak into the air. “Don’t try to trick me,” she said. “I’m too smart for you. This is the best nest in this little forest and everyone wants it. If I leave it—someone will steal it. Go away and leave me alone.”

A deep cold from the Arctic dropped down into the forest. The temperature plunged to below zero and ice blanketed everything. The birds came to Lila. “It will be the coldest it has ever been here in our little forest tonight,” they told her, “and you have the biggest nest. Let us come and stay with you in your nest. If we huddle together, we will stay warm enough to survive the cold. But if we face the cold alone—we will die.”

Lila stuck her beak into the air. “Don’t try to trick me,” she said. “I’m too smart for you. Go away and leave me alone.” She pointed a wing at the meadow. “You know I have a meadow full of diamonds and a path of rubies. You do not want to keep me warm—you want to steal my diamonds and rubies.”

“No, Lila,” Grandpa Sparrow said. “Don’t you realize that those sparkling jewels in your meadow are not diamonds? They are ice crystals because it is so cold. And those rubies are drops of blood from a young boy who fell and cut his arm on the ice. Please let us stay with you tonight. Or, come stay with us. We don’t have much room, but we will squeeze tightly together. We must stay together and work together to survive the deep cold tonight.”

But Lila stuck her beak into the air and said, “No, no! Go away and leave me alone. I will not let anyone steal my diamonds and rubies.”

The other birds in the little forest huddled together in their nests and warmed the night air around them. In the morning, they went to check on Lila. Her nest was empty.

She lay cold and stiff below the tree amid her field of sparkling diamonds—diamonds which melted and vanished beneath the morning sun.

“But seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you…a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.” Luke 12:33

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

When Plans Fail

(Cover of my soon-to-be released new book.)

One of my joys in life is helping in children’s church. I love finding an object lesson to tie in with each story. This time, I had found the perfect fit. The lesson was on gifts of the Spirit. Confidently, I held up a lemon in one hand and an apple in the other hand and asked the children which one they would rather eat. To my chagrin, ALL of them replied, “the lemon.”

Sometimes our plans fail.

My plan for the day was simple and fail-proof. I would write all morning.

The editor had promised to have my newly finished book back to me so I could make the final corrections. She didn’t.

I had my husband dressed and ready for the ambulance to pick him up for his trip to the cancer doctor across the water. At the last minute, he decided to change clothes. The phone rang and it was the vet’s office wanting our collie Savannah back for injections to treat her severe pancreatitis. The phone rang again. It was a gas engineer needing to check the boiler in our rental house. We weren’t expecting him, but he had already come across the water and needed to get into our house.

I helped my husband out to the ambulance in his wheelchair, took the wheelchair back to the house, and put Savannah into the car for her trip to the vet. I hadn’t had time to walk her yet, so I took her for a brief walk before I took her into the vet’s. She had diarrhea. Before the vet could take her temperature, she had to clean Savannah’s bottom.

I got back home to find a delivery from Amazon on the porch and the gas man waiting across the street in his van. The delivery contained a broken jar of dill pickles and pickle juice pooled at the front door. The gas engineer followed me inside, but the boiler is in the attic and I couldn’t find the thingy that opens the trap door to the attic steps.

The vet had asked me to take a photo of the label on Savannah’s food and email it to her so we could make sure the food wasn’t part of the problem. The memory card on the camera was locked. I couldn’t figure out how to unlock it. So I took Savannah’s food out of the freezer and copied the ingredients into an email to send the vet’s office. By this time, the engineer had found the thingy to unlock the steps and had inspected the boiler, but he couldn’t find the outlet for it. While searching, he slipped on the waterlogged back deck and almost fell. His foot went through a weak place in the wood. Fortunately, he was able to extract his foot without damage to either himself or the porch.

I hit the “send” key on my computer for the email to the vet, and went to help the gas engineer search for the outlet from the boiler. Neither of us could find it. The engineer needed to use the toilet before he left, and I realized much to my chagrin that I had never finished cleaning it yet—a job I had started at 6:30 a.m. when I got up. Because Alan can’t walk and has to use a bedside commode and I have to empty it into the toilet—the toilet needs to be cleaned rather often.

I heaved a sigh of relief when the gas engineer left and I could return to my plan. Spending the morning writing.

I glanced at the clock beside my desk. It was noon.

“A person’s heart plans their way, but the LORD directs the steps.” Sometimes He directs us into patience-building excursions.

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update

What I Didn’t Get For Christmas

I didn’t get a new car for Christmas. That’s okay—I don’t need a new car.

I didn’t get jewelry for Christmas. That’s okay—I don’t wear jewelry.

I didn’t get new clothes. No problem. I don’t need new clothes.

I didn’t get a designer handbag. No problem. I don’t even know what names qualify as designer handbags—and I seldom carry a purse anyway.

I didn’t get books, DVDs, perfume, or fruit baskets. Praise the Lord for that—our house is so small we’re out of room for anything extra, and we couldn’t eat the fruit before it spoiled.

Praise Jesus for the important things we didn’t get for Christmas; discord, anger, grief, fighting, jealousy, drunkenness, discontent.

What we unwrapped this Christmas was joy, love, contentment, peacefulness, promise, healing—everlasting gifts that will never wear out, get lost, or get thrown out.

We had the best Christmas ever.

The LORD says, “I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26.

We had God’s showers of blessing. We pray that you may unwrap that gift in 2024.

Amazon.com: Stephanie Parker McKean: books, biography, latest update