Those pretty orange lilies that grow along the side of the road are my favorite wild flowers. I told my husband the other day that is what I want to find growing on my grave someday. I do not remember seeing daylilies alongside the road when I grew up. That was something new that I found ...

Someone asked me not too long ago how I came to do what I do ... meaning specifically, I assumed, serve as a pastor in ministry. It’s a good question. And I have a pretty boring answer: it just felt right. At the age of 6, I served as an acolyte (the kid who lights the candles) and at 16 I ...

Early June in Northwestern Pennsylvania is peony time. This beautiful and elegant flower is the backbone of many perennial borders. The flowers come in colors of white and yellow and many shades red from the darkest hue to a pale pink. They have become a popular wedding flower as well as a ...

It was a shining example of making a memory. Three weeks ago, members of the Warren High School Class of 2020 traveled by car across the Kinzua Dam. At the mid-point, each graduate dressed in gown and cap was able to get out of their vehicle to receive their diploma from Principal Jeff ...

It is said that what happens between the date of your birth and the date of your death is LIFE. Although my tombstone has no dash, I like to think about the time that has been my life. It has truly been a journey and I am not finished yet. First of all, everyone has a life story. No not all ...

My husband, Boyd and I want to extend a big thank you to Josh Cotton for writing the wonderful stories about Boyd’s father and my father-in-law, Norris Freeborough. We received genuinely kind feedback from family and friends. It shows the importance of sharing the stories of those who ...

I think playgrounds are open but I am not sure. It has been awfully slow opening everything up around here. I know there are no programs this year, but I think parents can still take their children to the playground if they choose to. When I was growing up the playground played a ...

Death does not observe social distancing. In this time of pandemic, how do we offer comfort to friends and family who are grieving the loss of someone they love? How do we, who have lost a loved one, honor and remember the deceased without a traditional funeral, visitation or burial? We need to ...

It’s a name that always gets my attention. I’ve known it all my life even though it’s not my own name. And when it appears in print — especially in a public publication like a newspaper — I take notice. So there it was in a headline a couple of weeks ago. The name of God. We ...

President Donald Trump stepped up to declare houses of worship “essential places that provide essential services” to the American people. “The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now for this weekend,” he said. ...

WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 lockdown has served its purpose. The time has come to end it. The objective of the lockdown was never to stop every American from getting COVID-19, which is impossible; it was to buy time to learn about the virus and prevent our health care system from being ...

WASHINGTON — It is rarely a good idea to make campaign promises that put you in a box or could go very wrong, as nearly every president can attest. Joe Biden must have skipped that chapter in the campaign how-to handbook. He’s now stuck with vows to appoint women and minorities to key ...

When I was growing up in Erie, my bedroom was also a family “trophy room” of sorts. Looming over the head of my bed on the wall was the large mounted head of a 12-point buck white-tailed deer which one of my older half-brothers had shot. On the wall right over my bed was the snarling ...

Some of my friends and I were recently sharing stories of our grandparents’ and parents’ gardening experiences. My dad’s family had a fruit and vegetable farm in what is now the suburbs of Pittsburgh. It was the main source of income as they would take the fresh produce into ...

There is both skill and art involved in taking natural materials and fashioning them into a useful object. Humans have done this in the past, harvesting plants and turning them in shelters, clothes, furniture and tools. I can’t help but wonder how they figured it out, and if they watched the ...

Do you have a certain type of person that rattles your cage? Do you have certain people in your life that have similar traits with whom you struggle to be around and can only do so in short spurts? Can you pinpoint what those annoying traits are? There are definitely people that can get ...

People keep telling me I have my whole life ahead of me. Why don’t I feel that way then? I think incorporating the concept of creative living is now more important than ever. Creative living is the idea of making room for the things in your life that are important to you. As the days ...

Tin soldiers and Nixon coming, We’re finally on our own. This summer I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio. ——— Gotta get down to it Soldiers are cutting us down Should have been done long ago. What if you knew her And found her dead on the ground How can you run ...

Yesterday was the start of Mental Health Month. May is designated to addressing our mental health and encouraging people to focus as much on their mental health as they do their physical health. There continues to be a stigma associated with getting help for mental health. Not addressing your ...

As a creative professional, the times are truly uninspiring. Going into this new year, I was so excited to have a fresh start. Things started off without a hitch, but then everything came to a halt, as we are all well aware. I didn’t really start feeling the effects of everything until ...