Thanksgiving 2020: The Silly, the Secular, and the Sacred
The Silly Detail, enlarged The Secular The Sacred Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. ~ Psalm 100:3 KJV As you approach Thanksgiving...
Sixteen Year Old Aunt Ruthie Writes about an Election
“Where have you been hiding?” I asked myself as I discovered a tiny, green volume under three other, larger diaries. Over three years ago, my sisters and I cleared out our Aunt Ruthie’s house. They agreed to my placing her diaries and journals in my suitcase, flying...
Eating from Sarah’s Tree of Life
Sarah Klassen is a Canadian poet novelist storyteller with Mennonite roots Sarah is 88 years old. Recently Sarah has published her second poetry collection, The Tree of Life, a gem of a book, glowing with color like sunlight filtered through stained glass. ...
Dr. Katherine Meets Mennonite Daughter
Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes is Young Glamorous An accomplished author and speaker Dr. Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes wants to live in a world where lattes are free, lines are short, and people are judged by what’s inside instead of outside. So do I! *** I met...
Fifties Halloween Party with a Modern Writer’s Tip
Fun House Halloween was a big deal at our two-room school. Every October, the students in my teacher/aunt Miss Longenecker’s lower grades and Mrs. Kilhelfner’s upper-grades skipped class for Halloween amusement in the fun house that transformed the basement of Rheems...
Wordless Wednesday: Drying Rose Petals
Click below to hear the crackle of baked petals, sort of like crunchy leaves in autumn . . . in Florida, not! RevCrunchingPetals7704.TRIM How it began: A fresh-petal illustration from Mennonite Daughter, Chapter...
Memoirist Marian Joins Rave Reviews Book and Blog Party
Welcome to the #RRBC "ROCKIN' 2020 AWAY" BOOK, BLOG & TRAILER Block Party! @martabeaman #Giveaways * * * Here's What I'm Giving Away Today: $ 10.00 Target Gift Card Post a comment to go into the draw - Good Luck! (One winner only) Dear readers: Thank you...
13-Year-Old Ian: Not Quite a Bar Mitzvah
Ian Christopher Beaman Born in 2007 2 pounds, 5 ounces Now age 13 Strapping young man, full of vigor, praise God! A precarious beginning, indeed Our fourth grandchild appeared unexpectedly in early October, on his mother’s birthday, not as anticipated in early...
I Didn’t See that Coming: My 2020 Schedule
The book promotion part of my life started out robust in early 2020. My calendar was chock full of goodies, bulging with Ways to engage with readers and market Mennonite Daughter. Here is what January looked like . . . Then came February . . . How...
Remembering Sunday Dinners, PA Dutch Style and a New Author
The tradition of Sunday dinner with guests, thriving in our Mennonite (and larger) community as late as the early 1970s, was an expression of a communal spirit. It was an equally culinary and sacramental Sabbath experience. Now, except among the Plain...
Grandpa Sam’s 80th Birthday Party
Great Grandpa Sam, born in 1863, was honored with a party for his 80th birthday. My great grandfather Samuel Brinser Martin's birthday party was even written up in the Middleton (Pennsylvania) newspaper. I don't know whether my family was invited to the party,...
Slights and Offenses: How Do You Handle Them?
“Uh, oh, look here.” Husband Cliff was perusing local news online in our city newspaper. “Here’s a photo of Kitty and Karl Ellison’s house. A big, old live oak fell on their roof yesterday!” I shivered as I glanced at the disturbing sight. Seconds later, I felt a...
School Opens: Aunt Ruthie’s Diary Speaks
At Rheems Elementary School in Pennsylvania, classes began right after Labor Day, just like clockwork. My aunt was my teacher in the first four grades, the charms and challenges of which I describe in my memoir. Miss Longenecker, aka my Aunt Ruthie, taught...
Girl, Wash Your Face
Rachel Hollis is In your face Real Relevant Author Rachel Hollis' story is a rags to riches narrative, the heroine moving from Weedpatch (actual name!), California, to luxurious Bel Air, near Hollywood. Her book, published by Thomas Nelson in 2018, is also a...
The Astonishing Story of Little Ruby Bridges
Little black girl Smartly dressed in white Beginning first grade in New Orleans Who is Ruby Bridges? Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African American girl, is pictured on her first day of class at the William Frantz School in New Orleans, Louisiana....
Taking Steps
A breeze brushes my face as I walk through our neighborhood. Homes in the early morning sit politely on manicured lawns, some with pulsing arcs of water irrigating the grass. Here and there, crepe myrtle trees tout torches of fuchsia, lavender, or cream. I spot a fire...
Compensation: A Wedding Anniversary Meditation
How is a married couple like a herd of African wildebeests and zebras? Herds of African wildebeests and zebras migrate together because their strengths compensate for their weaknesses, making them more compatible and less vulnerable to attack....
