The Faith of her Friends

 I have a pretty cool kitchen in my house. It's not huge, it's not fancy, and it doesn't have new appliances or granite countertops, but it works well for me. It's kind of a galley-shaped kitchen, with counter space, the sink, and microwave on one side and the fridge, oven, stove, and toaster on the other side, and an exceptionally spacious pantry on the far end. But the floor space in the middle is wide enough for me to spin around in donuts, too. Thanks to a lot of generous friends, my kitchen is stocked well with utensils, bowls, and various cooking supplies.  The thing is, I don't actually cook. I don't know how obvious that is to the general public, but people who know me and spend any significant time with me take for granted that cooking is not in my skill set. Like a lot of things, it's not for lack of interest or competence, but mostly because my arms and hands don't work well. No one wants me to try to flip a pancake, chop a carrot, mash a pota

One of my favorite things about my job is meeting new people and being a part of their story. This past weekend, my friends Pam, Andy, and Andrea drove to Pentwater, Michigan with me so we could meet three families who use the WCK Backpack. It was a quick trip; we drove up after work on Friday and returned Sunday afternoon, and it took about 4 hours to get there. But all we needed was one magical day... and that is what we got.  We met up with the Smith family and the Borgman family for a picnic lunch of fresh fish from a little place called Bortell's Fisheries , that's been around for six generations... amazing selection, delicious and satisfying! It was good that we ate first, because we had quite the adventure ahead of us...  We followed the families down the road a little way in our vans, and parked on a sandy shoulder next to an unmarked path leading into the bushes, where we connected with the Hilton family. We got out and "geared up" - aka, got kids in backpack

(UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who has prayed for my respiratory issues lately! I am breathing much better this week, with no congestion!) There's a ridiculously romantic part of me that wishes I lived in the Regency period, with royal balls and muslin dresses and chivalrous men in top hats and estates with fancy names. But most of me is really happy to live in the 21st century, with conveniences like indoor plumbing, modern medicine, battery-operated equipment, and iPhones. I don't consider myself a techie professional by any means, but I am amazed at how "smart devices" have made my life so much easier.  In my house, I have an automatic door that opens and closes when I touch a button on my phone's Alexa app. My bedroom and living room lights are voice activated by Alexa. And I can call my friends' phones through Alexa, too. In fact, as far as AI relationships go, Alexa is probably my best friend (although I have a little crush on the 'Echo' that is