What strange times we are living in!

Lives have been disrupted the world 'round by the coronavirus pandemic and left us attempting to adjust to a "new normal" that changes by the hour.

I'm praying for you! I pray for the health and safety of our global communities. I pray for the children home from school. I pray for the workers displaced from jobs. I pray for those continuing to work in essential roles to keep us fed, and housed, and mobile. I pray for the healthcare providers fighting an exhaustive fight. I pray for the vulnerable, and I pray for those who have lost cherished loved ones. I spend most of my days and my nights in prayer.

And still spring arrives, a reminder of God's promise that after even the harshest of winters, everything will be made new again.

COVID-19 is a brutal storm that has been tossed upon us, but look among the sadness and the sorrows and you will find joys and triumph.

People are getting well, and I hope we'll soon be hearing more and more about them in the news. Babies are being born, children are still laughing, growing, and looking to parents for reassurance. Neighbors are helping neighbors; on your street, in your town, state to state, and across our borders...

Look for the daffodil and the cherry blossom who turn their face toward the sun, and then take a little time each day to do the same. I hope it will provide some renewed energy and perspective to face whatever challenges this tumultuous time brings.

I am with you my friends, from my new makeshift studio in my husband's barn (we've relocated to his rural cattle ranch for the time being.) I'll be here, keeping you company and trying to be a light in the darkness.

My 10 Million Hope Masks Challenge

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) that healthcare workers count on to keep contagions at bay, is in short supply as the number of coronavirus patients in need of treatment increase.

I'm asking my friends and listeners to please, if you have any of these much needed items, donate them to a medical facility! Face masks, shields, goggles, surgical gloves, gowns, and suits... all are sorely needed by the folks on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19!

If you don't work in one of the many industries that use this type of equipment, you can still help!

Join my 10 Million Hope Masks Challenge!

I've been cutting and sewing fabric face masks for a week, along with my daughters, my mother-in-law, and thousands of others across the country. These will be donated to medical facilities where they will be sterilized and put to good use!

I also want to encourage you to use them! There are some very encouraging reports coming from places that have made it mandatory for all their citizens to wear masks when in public.

The practice seems to be helping to slow the spread of the coronavirus. While the very BEST thing you can do during this pandemic is to STAY HOME to STAY HEALTHY, if you must go out, please mask-up!

Head to my web site for more information on my 10 Million Hope Masks Challenge where you'll find links to patterns and instructional videos. Let's do this!!!

Upload a photo of your finished masks to Instagram and use the hashtags #hopemasks & #10millionmasks

Join the Challenge!

April Book Club | DAWGS by Diane Trull with Meredith Wargo

Order your copy of DAWGS

We’ve all seen them, the cardboard boxes outside grocery stores and gas stations, filled with a litter of puppies… and we’ve all felt the tug. But most of us find a way to talk ourselves down from the impulse to arrive home from our errand with a new family pet (or pets!) Usually I do too - but not always - I‘m a sucker for a puppy or a matted stray in need of a loving home, and my family does little more than raise an eyebrow when another “Buddy” or “Lobo” or “Scaredy Cat” join the circus at the farm…

My book club pick for April was borne of a scene just like the one I described above. You'll get the history, and many touching vignettes, of the special animals and special people of DAWGS, by Diane Trull. It's the story of how a 4th grade reading class, called to action by a newspaper photo of a box of puppies in need of homes, started an animal shelter in their town of Dalhart, Texas.

Ms. Trull was working with one student on reading aloud skills, when she was repeatedly interrupted by a group of other students who had a LOT of questions about this picture. "Where did the puppies come from?" "Who's going to take care of them?" (And the big one…) "What happens to them if they don't find families???"

And that's how the Dalhart Animal Wellness Group and Sanctuary - DAWGS - came to be!

But I’m not going to tell you anymore, because Diana Trull already has! When you get your copy, you’ll hear all about that day at Allyn Finch Intermediate School, and the ensuing weeks, months, and challenges she and the students faced to make their mission of helping every animal find it’s way home.

If you have a heart for animals, you will absolutely LOVE this book! It is the perfect example of how a 4th grade teacher, her husband and family, and an amazing group of grade schoolers leveraged their passion, knowledge, skills and talents to change the world one heart at at time! And it provides so much inspiration for you to do the same!

Join this ambitious group of 2-legged care-givers and their 4-legged clients, such as Princess Mitzy - the Pekinese, Sweetpea - the miniature Pinscher, Stewie - the tiny Tuxedo cat, and many others on their journeys to forever homes and an ever-widening circle of love.

DAWGS is on sale now, just when we need some uplifting stories to help us through a difficult time!

Get your copy HERE

Recipe | Hot Cross Buns

This little rhyme takes me back to piano lessons with Mrs. Briody, who had a strong Irish accent and little patience for girls who didn't practice between lessons!

Hot cross buns! 

Hot cross buns! 

One a penny, two a penny, 

Hot cross buns!

If you have no daughters, 

give them to your sons. 

One a penny, two a penny, 

Hot cross buns!

It also reminds me of sweet, yeasty, treat-studded buns served on Easter weekend, which happens to be just around the corner!

And, while Easter will look and feel different this year, as we all do our part to responsibly socially distance ourselves, we will still be free to practice our faith as well as our traditions - both old and maybe some new.

I talked my niece, Charisa, into making Hot Cross Buns, and she baked up a batch infused with orange flavor and chock-full of chocolate chips!

The full recipe can be found on Delilah.com on my Food Blog. Click on over, and then make a baker's dozen for those you'll be spending the holiday with - even if that's a party of one!

Easter Sunday is April 12. It won't look the same this year, no gathering the flock for sunrise services, or community egg hunts in the park, but that doesn't stop the holiest of holy days from arriving and blessing us with God's grace.

I will worship Him with my family, the Easter Bunny will leave something behind for Delilah Jr. and Bae Paul, we'll feast upon deviled eggs and hot cross buns, and I will remember that, God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son... and that spring follows even the harshest of winters.

All is well with my soul, and I wish the same for you. Sending much love and wishes for good health and healing,

-Delilah