20th Anniversary

Tim and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary today!

We were hoping to spend the day at the zoo with Cody and Morgan, and stay overnight in Omaha, but our plans just didn’t work out. Instead we went to Grand Island shopping with Morgan. I should say, Morgan shopped, and Tim and I browsed and sat and talked. It was nice to spend time with Tim without the phone or laundry or anything else that, at home, seems to interrupt us.

When I look back, I see the many blessings God has given us throughout our marriage. After our faith, we of course consider Cody and Morgan our greatest blessings! We also have achieved our dream of living at the ranch, where Tim and Cody and Morgan have their cattle and Morgan has her sheep. We are each blessed with our own businesses, and each other.

I’m not much for trying to imagine where I’ll be in five, or ten, or 20 years, so I never had a picture of where we’d be on our 20th anniversary, and I don’t have a picture of where we’ll be five, or ten, or 20 years from now. What I know is that Tim and I have been blessed by God in our years together!

Paper Delivery and Mailing Week

It was a busy week, but I feel that I accomplished a lot! We got the papers packed (for sponsors who receive 10 copies or more every month to display in their waiting room or reading material area), addressed (for individual subscribers), and mailed at the Bulk Mail Unit in Norfolk, and delivered to businesses and churches in Norfolk and Columbus.

Lori is out of town this week, so Morgan helped me with deliveries. It was fun to spend the time with her, and we even had some time to do school shopping after we made deliveries in Norfolk.

I always wonder what people think when they receive their papers. I hope they look forward to reading the issue that they receive, and get something out of the articles in the paper.

I had several people tell me, today when I delivered papers, that they were happy to see me with the new issue! That made my day!

Letting Others Know about the Nebraska Family Times

Today I met with a friend, Cheryl, who is considering working with me on the paper! I’m interested in finding someone who will help me do research in areas in which I’d like to market the paper. I would like the paper to be sponsored in churches and hospitals, so church members/patients/visitors could read a paper and take it home if they wanted to.

Cheryl will work on making calls to determine who, in hospitals, we should send a sample paper, letter, and information to. Lori, my Assistant, is going to work on compiling a database of churches, so we can send them the same information.

When I tell people about the Nebraska Family Times, I find that few of them have heard of the paper! I think the Nebraska Family Times is a very important Christian resource, so am trying to spread the word.

I hope readers of the paper will also spread the word. Just ask people you know if they’ve heard of the paper. If you’re willing to part with your copy, offer to let them borrow it. They can also request a free sample copy from me and I’ll be glad to send it out!

August Newspaper

The August issue of the paper is full of articles for all readers!

There are several articles I think will touch many readers. On the front page you’ll find an article about The Big D; Divorce Through the Eyes of a Teen. The class, for kids age 14-18 whose parents are divorced, begins September 2 in Columbus. The class will help kids learn to balance two lives when custody is shared, and will also help kids establish their own set of values when living in households with different sets of values. For more information call Linda Meyers-Bock at (402) 276-2208.

The article Straight Talk About Casual Sex separates truth from what the media portrays as the “joys” of casual sex. Parents—read the article and talk with your kids about the issues addressed within, or ask your kids to read the article and discuss it with them later.

Pray God’s Promises for Your Kids’ Lives gives guidelines for praying for your kids now and in the future.

The August issue should arrive in your mailbox, or at the business/church where you pick it up, by July 31st. As always, I look forward to your comments and suggestions!

{If you read this after the August issue has been distributed, call and request a copy; I usually have a few issues left over and will be happy to send you one at no charge if they are available!}

Starting the Week

I work at my nursing job almost every Monday. I enjoy working Mondays; it gives me a good start to the week. While I’m at work, I have a chance to think about what I want and need to accomplish during the week.

I usually do errands after work, since I’m on the way to Columbus anyway. It’s a good feeling to get home and have the groceries and supplies I’ll need for the week.

Today I also worked on the paper; I need to have all the articles to Jennifer by Wednesday so she can get the paper set up. My mission is to find articles that will inspire, encourage, and motivate readers in their Christian walk, and sometimes it’s hard to find articles that I think will benefit readers. This was one of those months; I searched my usual good sources, but the articles just weren’t “good enough.” I will work on the paper again tomorrow, and pray that I’ll find articles that you’ll enjoy.

Back to work!

Grassroots Event at The Abbey

It was fun to meet new authors and hear the music at The Abbey tonight!

All of the authors were asked to give a brief presentation, and I talked about my writing career. I enjoyed hearing the other authors talk about how they’d come to be writers.

Thanks to Kay Marshall at The Abbey for arranging the event!

Fun at the Fair

The Platte County Fair is always a high point of our summer. It’s great to see friends, and the kids are proud of the accomplishments from their hard work on projects.

This year, for the first year since Cody began showing 10 years ago, neither Cody or Morgan showed in the cattle show! Morgan showed sheep, and Cody, for the first time in the history of the Burkes showing at the fair, showed a pig! The kids both did great with their animals, and enjoyed spending time with friends.