Category Archives: Three Word Wednesday

Looking for Abundant Life

Janis Van Keuren

After a little more than a week of being laid up from one of those old-age illnesses, I ventured into our backyard aching to get my first up-close glimpse of our orange blossoms. They did not disappoint. In abundant array, they crowned nearly every branch stretching its glory into the sky. The closer I approached, the stronger the heady scent of citrus perfumed the air. What a welcome it offered to leaving behind sickness and stepping into health again. Just … Continue reading →

A Comfortable Place

Janis Van Keuren

“It’s what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” Oscar Wilde Just returning from a prolonged visit to the dentist with a half-numbed face, I picked up a cozy book I had been reading and tucked myself into the corner of our blue tweed sofa. Comfort time and just what the dental assistant had recommended. Actually she had suggested a nap and ibuprofen. I felt woozy but knew a … Continue reading →

Loved Beyond Measure

Janis Van Keuren

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3 ESV The alarm interrupted my morning slumber, and seconds later hubby was nudging me to crawl out of bed. Even though I had eagerly anticipated our women’s retreat, the temptation to just stay in bed after a long and tiring week was pulling me back under the covers. Once my feet finally hit the floor, I moved through the motions of getting … Continue reading →

Camping in His Glory

Janis Van Keuren

Rain pounded the metal room of our pop-up tent as we relaxed inside to the comforting sound while we read. It’s that forced moment of rest that we all long for but fail to create in our busy schedules. (Click to Tweet) After the summer monsoon passed, the pungent aroma of pine trees permeated the air. We stepped outside to a carpet of wet grass and wild brilliant daisies bursting forth from the soft ground. White clouds drifted across the … Continue reading →

Compromising the Diet Fix

Janis Van Keuren

  Keeping fit has been a lifelong rollercoaster ride for me. The weight increases 10 to 20 pounds and I’m looking for a new diet fix. Just recently, as many of you know from reading my blog posts, I’ve been hitting the gym and exercising like never before in my life. In addition, I’ve devised my own high protein diet after my attempts at a commercially-marketed product failed. I don’t blame the merchandise. It was probably more my own lack … Continue reading →

Blooming in Barrenness

Janis Van Keuren

Each day I drive by these botanical symbols of life in the springtime desert. The ocotillo dressed in statuesque elegance with its plumes of red flowers sways in front of the Sonoran Desert hallmark, the giant Saguaro. I drink in this fleeting beauty which will fade as spring turns up its heat and all that will be left are the spiny thorns which make these sentinels unapproachable. Still I marvel at God’s artistic majesty to create striking beauty in a … Continue reading →

Approval-Seeking Dreams

Janis Van Keuren

College was drawing to a close for me. I stood on the edge of my senior year gazing into the future with wild imaginations of where I hoped my career would lead me. I loved the heartbeat of a big city. The hustle and bustle beckoned me. Buildings reaching for the sky just like my dreams. (Giveaway) (Click to Tweet) I was a journalism major with high aspirations. I was clicking out words in downtown Los Angeles as a columnist … Continue reading →

Peace With Yourself

Janis Van Keuren

Well, here I go for a second time writing this post. Somehow Blogger decided to publish–without my knowledge or even pushing the publish button. Of course at that time, there was nothing on the page!! And then I wrote for two hours…..And. It. Was. All. Gone! When autumn winds began to blow before the crush of the Christmas panic, I met an incredible writer at a Christian writers conference. And I made a promise. A promise to post a review … Continue reading →

Watching and Waiting

Janis Van Keuren

      I was standing over the stove top cooking the Chicken Tarragon when I felt my impatience grow. The timer was set to brown each breast filet for 4 minutes on a side. The three boneless breasts huddled next to each other in the cast iron frying pan while I watched the timer tick away the minutes. I had already measured and set out the other ingredients so the only thing left to do was WAIT.      The timer … Continue reading →