As I grow older outwardly, within me grows deeper the virtue of gratefulness. Please endure my humble spirit as I write about my pride of being a citizen of Mount Angel.

Remember all the Red Cross Blood Drives I would remind you of during all these years? Did you think I have forgotten how important they are? Never!

Faith is only one part in the equation of a spiritually mature life. Faith is similar to believing we need food for our existence else we die.

I have this habit of saving letters and the other day I came across a precious one touching my heart resulting in tears. I would like to share it with you because I hope all loving families can relate to it.

People who know me call me a Renaissance woman. Maybe, they’re right.

Like most adults, the older one becomes the more one looks back. Presently, it’s not so much where I’m heading but where I’ve been.

There is something deeply sacred about every single person. If we become blind to this, we end up treating people as if they were disposable objects and turn this beautiful world of ours into a wasteland.

To strengthen a child’s value system, to help them develop a solid foundation is far better than teaching them solutions to personal conflicts because, as parents, we can’t anticipate all the issues that will confront them.

Asking forgiveness of his crucifiers, Christ said,” Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” while he was dying on the cross.

Summer is ending. Fall is approaching and so, as a past teacher, my thoughts usually turn to school starting.

Last month brought back graduation ceremony memories, some of which were our grandchildren’s that my late husband, Tom, and I were able to attend.

My monthly columns fall under the heading “Something for the Soul,” which I take pretty seriously but hopefully not without a sense of humor when appropriate.

No other human activity demands as much hard work as raising children.

By Winnie Bolton Ask any married couple and they’ll agree marriage is hard work. There are compromises, communication challenges and never-ending responsibilities – especially when children are involved. Yet in our society where almost half of all marriages end in divorce, it seems as if the work isn’t getting done. If a marriage is going to be fulfilling, it has […]