If there is one gift I miss from childhood, it is giggling. In my own experience young girls share this gift with one another with
I remember pretty clearly the first time I recognized injustice. I was in elementary school and our substitute teacher was a lot like the evil
I like movies. Old ones. New ones. Happy and blue ones. There are some lines in movies that stick with you whether you want them
Do you know what I mean by a “rag-rug”? I suppose it is so named because it is made out of old cloth, too ratty
When I was a child my mother made nearly all my clothes. She taught me to sew, even as her mother had taught her. There
Pamela Graf Short counts her farm heritage as one of the great blessings of her life. On the Ohio homestead, she was surrounded by neighbors who understood the value of blessing one another with fellowship, kindness, generosity, and laughter. Many blessings in this book flow from her childhood memories. Others are gleaned from her diverse vocational history as a nurse, a teacher of world religions, a pastor, and a mother. “I think I am correct in saying that the first formal blessing given to me as a babe was Numbers 6:24-26: ‘May God bless you and keep you. May God’s face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May God look kindly upon you and give you peace.’ And though blessed throughout my life, it was not until I read Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen’s My Grandfather’s Blessings that I really understood blessing as an unconditional gift of pure grace.”
Pamela is an ordained ministrer in the Presbyterian Church, USA, serving Jesus Christ through the Maumee Valley Presbytery (Ohio and Michigan). She and husband Peter are grateful to count their family as blessings: Benjamin and Lauren, Allison and Andrew, grandsons Samuel, Isaac, Nathan, and Jaden, whose brief earthly life broke open a mighty waterfall of love.
Gwen Stamm, the oldest of six children, grew up on a farm near Archbold, Ohio. Besides raising turkeys, her family cared for their pets, including cats and dogs, instilling in Gwen a sensitivity for the well-being of animals and all creatures of the natural world.
In addition to work on the farm, Gwen and two of her sisters closest in age spent much time in their early years singing as a trio, playing, and drawing cut-out families together.
When she was age nine or ten, Gwen’s mom and dad gave her a book of drawing instructions, a gift which has led her on a revelatory, vivid, colorful adventure of exploring with artistic creations ever since.
Gwen studied art and design at Hesston (Kansas) College and Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas. She worked as a graphic designer at Goshen (Indiana) College and Mennonite Publishing House in Scottdale, Pennsylvania. Currently, she does freelance and volunteer art, design, and calligraphy projects for clients and the church she attends. She’s a member of the Calligraphy Guild of Pittsburgh, and occasionally attends calligraphy workshops which the guild offers.
Gwen lives in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Robert Eby, and their beloved orange tabby cat, Georgi.
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