The following story is an excerpt from The Heritage of Etta Bend, a story my mother told me about her childhood in northeast Oklahoma. The “I” is my mother, Susie Latty Day. Mom told me this story and I wrote it to be included in The Heritage of Etta Bend in 1989. It was spring, […]
Apr 3, 2026
Good Friday
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Sin held sway and horror gripped the earth on the Friday Jesus died. Darkness covered everything and everyone. Not the darkness of a spring thunderstorm but a thick, suffocating darkness. Candles must have been lit in homes as people groped about as if they were blind. The earth shook and perhaps groaned as the veil […]
Mar 31, 2026
Through the Years
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I wrote these two children’s poems a long time ago and sold them to two different Christian children’s magazines of widely differing beliefs. But, you know what? Both magazines’ editors liked poems. Poetry and stories sort of bring us all together, don’t they? God’s Small World by Blanche Manos God made a tiny, shiny world […]
Mar 30, 2026
Forgiveness
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Esau and Jacob were twins but that seemed to be about all they had in common. You remember the story of how Jacob tricked Esau and also their father Isaac. As I read about the brothers reuniting after twenty years, I could feel Jacob’s guilty fear as he went to meet Esau. What a surprise for […]
Mar 29, 2026
Encouragement
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The word “encouragement” comes from an Old French word meaning “to thrive”. It describes something that we all need. It just seems to make the day brighter and our efforts worthwhile. Children thrive on encouragement; it is like vitamins to a child’s emotional growth. But, guess what? We never outgrow that need. Even when we’re […]
