Janet Benlien Reeves

One of the things  I enjoy most about Halloween is getting to greet all of our neighbors right on our own doorstep. Throughout most of the year, our quiet neighborhood is, well, quiet! We might get to wave at a neighbor or two when taking out the trash, picking up the mail, or taking a walk, but that’s about it. On Halloween, though, the neighbors all come out and visit each other. I get to greet the children, tell them how cute or scary or beautiful or funny they are, and give them candy which brings smiles to their faces in exchange for the smile they put on my own. I get to say  Hi  to all their parents and wish them a happy evening. I get to laugh as our dog attempts to go home with every child who comes to the door. (She just wants to join in the fun!) Halloween may be known for the scary stuff, but I think it’s just a great opportunity for everyone to be extra friendly! As we greet trick-or-treaters this evening, let’s remember to whisper brief prayers for them, t...

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”  -2 Corinthians 12:9 Not too long after my husband and I adopted three children from foster care, the difference between supportive friends and cynics became clear. Some people would ask how we were adapting, inviting us, we thought, to talk openly about the struggle. Supportive friends would offer to pray, work harder to get to know our daughters, and look for ways to help or encourage us. Others, however, would smirk and comment that maybe we’d bitten off more than we could chew. It felt like they were looking for evidence to support their opinion that we’d made a mistake. It was as if they were watching for us to fail and taking pleasure in our discomfort. Nothing short of a miraculously smooth and quick transition for all of us would have convinced these skept...

Last week I learned about an invented poetry form called riddle-ku . 1 Did you know you can invent your own poetry forms? I’m still learning all I can about existing forms and practicing new poetry skills. But maybe someday. In the meantime, riddle-ku was a fun surprise. Children’s book author and poet Laura Purdie Salas created riddle-ku in 2014 to celebrate National Poetry Month. The form combines mask poetry, American haiku, and riddles. A mask poem is written from the point of view of an object as if the poet were that object. Salas put a collection of mask poems in American haiku form in her book, Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons . Readers use clues in the poem to solve the riddle of the object’s identity. Here is my attempt at riddle-ku :    I dive to drape rock    Shoulders, cape wall with silken    Fabric ever furled. The thing about forms, though, is sometimes they restrict ideas. Forms are fun to play with but must serve ideas. ...

  While praying yesterday afternoon, I came across the following, familiar verse: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). “Lord, I am seeking You with all my heart,” I prayed. “At least I think I am. Is there anything I’m seeking that competes for Your place in my heart?” I continued to pace and pray, a favorite technique of mine. While walking, I read from a handful of Bible verse cards, one verse at a time. I talk to God about any thought the verse brings into my mind. I walk and reflect until I feel ready to move to another verse. As I considered Jeremiah 29:13, some words came into my mind regarding things I may sometimes seek that threaten to challenge God for parts of my heart.   Approval For me, approval from others is a vulnerability. More than once I’ve made a decision based on what someone else will think of me or wants me to do instead of seeking God’s opinion on the matter first. I can also be tempted to lie o...

As my children have begun having children of their own, I have enjoyed returning some of their once-treasured childhood belongings for them to share with their kids: books, blankets, toys, and clothes. We moved often, so I didn’t keep much, but I love seeing items my kids enjoyed show up in the hands of their kids. On my most recent visit to their house, two of my grandchildren handed me such a book. My heart hugged the memory of what was as I anticipated what I hoped would be. I opened the book. Inside the front cover, we discovered a bookplate with my son’s name on it. My grandmother had given me the bookplates when my son was still a toddler. My grandkids are going to love this! “What’s that say, Memaw?” asked my granddaughter. “It says this book belongs to your daddy. Isn’t that fun?” “No,” she said. “This book belongs to us.” What? “Let’s take the sticker off!” said my grandson. No! Just that fast, four little hands grabbed for the book. But I slipped my two slig...