by MarianBeaman | Jan 11, 2023 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, popular culture, Uncategorized
Did you notice? Even before 2023 rolled around, ads for weight loss appeared on TV. Many made resolutions for the new year even before the ball dropped in Times Square. Maybe you did too. New Year’s resolutions are certainly not a new thing. Even in the early 1900s,...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 14, 2022 | blog, Christmas, Cliff Beaman artist, Gratitude, Literature, neighborhood, popular culture, Recipes, Reflection, Uncategorized
Stone Soup is a European folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys. The tale serves to illustrate the value of sharing. In varying traditions, the stone...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 20, 2022 | blog, book review, Cliff Beaman artist, Easter, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, meditation, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Excerpt from “Easter and Politics,” chapter 24 in Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl Two doors led into Grandma Longenecker’s kitchen. On this particular Sunday, we aimed for her back door. After Daddy parked our car alongside the back porch,...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 16, 2022 | blog, Gratitude, Literature, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Reflection
Find the Colors in this Urban Afternoon Reflection February A chimney, breathing a little smoke. The sun, I can’t see making a bit of pink I can’t quite see in the blue. The pink of five tulips at five p.m. on the day before March first. The green...
by MarianBeaman | Dec 31, 2021 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Uncategorized
Happy New Year! Comments...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 6, 2021 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Uncategorized
The poet Maren Tirabassi reflects on the life of Christ, depicting autumn leaves showing their beauty, their brilliance, and their fragility–and then falling. Observe her weaving the seasonal into the scriptural, spanning His birth and, eventually, His...