by MarianBeaman | Dec 15, 2021 | blog, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations
I wasn’t sure it would open. So my husband Cliff gathered assorted tools in case the clasp on Aunt Ruthie’s Diary had clamped shut with rust. A faux-leather, brown diary with an attached key has lain on my desk for years now. Ever since we cleared out Aunt...
by MarianBeaman | Nov 17, 2021 | blog, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Have you heard of Heman the Ezrahite? There’s a good chance you haven’t because he’s a rather obscure Old Testament character. I just learned about him recently. In the choirs of David, musicians Heman and Jeduthun were appointed to give thanks. It was literally their...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 20, 2021 | Amish, blog, book review, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Lucinda and Her Books I’ve featured Mennonite author Lucinda J. on my blog a few years ago. When her first book came out in 2017, the memoir Anything but Simple, her name was Lucinda J. Miller. You can read that post here. A few years ago, she married Ivan and changed...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 13, 2021 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Mennonite Lore, Quilt, Tips, Uncategorized
You’ve heard many metaphors for life, images that suggest how daily happenings can throw us into a tailspin: Life is like a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs Life is like a washing machine, churning round and round Life is like bumper cars, hitting one...
by MarianBeaman | Sep 1, 2021 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Travel, Uncategorized
The National Weather Service blurted out: “Get ready for a hurricane, Jacksonville, a Category 5 storm named Dorian, is creeping up the coast.” It was September 2, 2019, and any day now I was awaiting the delivery of 16 cartons of books, my memoir. The skies...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 25, 2021 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
When I was a plain, ten-year-old girl, I wanted to looked like Mary. My big brown eyes turned green with envy when Mary Martin and her sister Evelyn walked through the door at Grandma Fannie’s house for holiday dinners. Both were elegantly turned out, resplendent in...