"With God's Grace Our Worst Past
Becomes Our Best Future"
Becomes Our Best Future"
Fishing with my father was anything but boring, but my mother dreaded every fishing season. “Your father is a veritable Mr. Hyde when he fishes,” she would say, generally including an emphatic gesture like hitting Dad with the newspaper, pretending a fly had landed on his shirt. “It’s safer to cuddle up to a rattler than be stuck in a boat with your father. He’s done a lot of crazy things—the craziest was the day he brought home a trout he caught at Butternut Creek.”
Dad squeezed Mother’s hand. “I suppose she’s right.”
They shared the tale that symbolized their sixty plus years together.
“Butternut Creek is so narrow,” Dad said, “you could toss a stone from one side to the other. And the trees like to hold hands across the creek. I cast my line, and I was the first to get a hit. By the force of the pull, I knew he was a big feller.”
Downstream, Eddie, Dad’s fishing buddy, was about to cast when he saw Dad struggling to hold his line. “Looks like a keeper, Cal,” he shouted. “Better use the net!”
“I left it in the truck!”
“Your father was always forgetful,” Mother interjected.
Dad could see the truck in an open field about a quarter of a mile downstream. It might as well have been two miles away. Eddie raced to retrieve it while Dad battled the trout. Long minutes later, Eddie plunged into chest-high rapids. For an agonizing second, Dad thought his amazing catch of the day would become catalogued with the other trillion stories of the one that got away.
“Got him!” Eddie shouted as he emerged triumphantly. They stopped at the water’s edge and shared an emotional moment sans tears and embraces. Eddie simply stated, “Got to have a picture of this one, Cal.”
“Well, I don’t own a camera,” Dad moaned.
“Cal, we’ve got to have proof. Nobody’s going to believe we actually caught this fellow.”
“Well, neither one of us has one. At least we know what we caught.”
The men trudged home with no lasting memento to herald their deed.
Mom came to the rescue.
As much as she despised fishing, she understood what this catch meant to her husband. “Put the fish in the tub,” she said. “I’ll find us a camera.” The next day she borrowed one from her employer, and the picture found its way into Dad’s brag book.
I think that’s the way they lived their life together, coming to the rescue for one another. Isn’t that what love is?
MEET JENNIFER SLATTERY
10/5/2018 1:05:00 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
HONESTLY SPEAKING
10/3/2018 3:22:00 PM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Perceptual Blindness
10/1/2018 3:56:00 PM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
THE PUTTING GREEN WHISPERER
9/14/2018 1:10:00 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
The God of the Mundane
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WHEN I WAS THREE
7/16/2018 11:52:00 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
He Passes By
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Bryan's Homecoming
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EMERGENCE
6/1/2018 1:31:00 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
THE PURSUIT OF PEACE
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Live Long and Prosper
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THE REAL DEAL
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SOMETHING NEW
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HEADLINE HYSTERIA
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COUNTRY ROADS
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STUPIDITY IS NO EXCUSE
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WHO PUT THE VINEGAR IN THE SALT/CREATED TO BE SALT PART B
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WHO PUT THE VINEGAR IN THE SALT/ CREATED TO BE SALT/PART A
5/20/2017 1:22:00 PM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
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THE FIFTY-FIFTY CONUNDRUM
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THE ROCK OF OUR FUTURE
3/31/2017 7:28:00 PM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
FRIENDSHIP IS STICKY BUSINESS
3/14/2017 8:30:00 PM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
PASS THE LOVE, PLEASE
1/17/2017 1:00:00 AM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
STRANDED BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
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BATTLE FATIGUES
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12/24/2016 11:22:00 AM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
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FRIENDSHIP IS STICKY BUSINESS
12/14/2016 8:42:00 PM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
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KERI'S CHRISTMAS WISH
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CONFESSIONS OF A GARDENS SLUGGARD
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FOLLOW WHICH LEADER?
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THE CHOICE TO FAIL
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DOUBLE CHOCOLATE TROUBLE
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PATIENT PRAYING
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PATIENT WISDOM
7/12/2016 12:00:01 AM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
OF PETS AND PERSISTENCE
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God's Server Never Shuts Down
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5/18/2016 7:57:49 AM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
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4/28/2016 7:28:32 AM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
IT'S WHAT THEY DO
4/17/2016 12:00:01 AM by: LINDA WOOD RONDEAU
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FROM LIGHT TO BRIGHT
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ACQUAINTED WITH GRIEF
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Settled By Faith
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JOY COMETH IN THE MORNING
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THE EDUCABLE MOMENT
11/17/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
There's love in them there casseroles
11/4/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Searching for God With All My Heart
10/30/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
I RUN TO YOU
10/27/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Sweetening Our Sour Grapes
10/23/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
THE FALL THAT LIFTS
10/20/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
A Walk With God
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Disappointment and Discouragement
10/6/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
STIRRING TRUTH
10/2/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
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RESTORED HEARTS and a Writer's Journey
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THE WRITER'S JOURNEY: Meditations on the Road
9/11/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
DIALOGUING OUR FEARS
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WHY A BOOK OF PRAYERS?
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From Lettuce to Pages
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AND NOT TO YIELD
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BONNIE LEON WRITES TO ENCOURAGE THE DISABLED
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FAITH WORTH THE FIGHT
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CANT HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER
8/10/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
THE WINDING TRAIL
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The Flavorful Church
7/28/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Commitment Phobia
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BE ANGRY AND SIN NOT
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6/30/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
A HUNGER FOR GOD
6/26/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
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6/24/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
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A Dream Come True of Being A Writer
6/12/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR
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Meet Shannon Vannetter Christian Author
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JOY COMES IN THE MORNING
6/2/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
EMPTY NETS
5/26/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Bucketwish
5/23/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Loyalty that Springs from Spirituality
5/20/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
Wonderfully Made
3/8/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
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2/7/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
HAPPY NEW YEAR
1/4/2015 12:00:01 AM by: Linda Wood Rondeau
