Author: Joan Hartley

Twenty-six years and some odd months ago, I was propped up in a hospital bed with my Bible open on my lap. Just the day before, I had given birth to our youngest child. Madison. We had planned her name… Continue Reading →

Today is my birthday. No, this isn’t a ploy to accumulate Facebook (or other) birthday wishes, for by the time you read this, the day will have passed. It’s just that today, being my birthday and all (still sounds like… Continue Reading →

The wolves slink over the knoll, first one and then another. Bold in their efforts to assess their prey, one passes a male ox who notes its presence but raises no alarm. Patient. Focused. Now committed, they act. Working in… Continue Reading →

Several years ago, a student asked me where I lived. Upon hearing my house was in the country, he looked at me, eyes wide, and in an alarmed voice implored, “You shouldn’t live there, Miz Hartley!” Bewildered, I asked him… Continue Reading →