Saranne (Punky) Penberthy

Have you ever had questions that you wish you had asked your parents? As an only child, I have no siblings with whom to converse about various subjects. In a day when birth control was not what it is today, my parents had been married … Read more

When our phone rang about eight weeks ago, the display showed that it was our son calling. I was, of course, delighted, but I was not prepared for his greeting. "Mom, Mary and I want to come to the ranch for the solar eclipse on April 8." … Read more

According to the experts, hummingbirds are expected to leave the part of central Texas where I live on October 10th. As I write this on October 22nd, the hummingbirds have already been gone from our ranch for about three weeks. That means … Read more

Every year in the spring in central Texas, USA, we anticipate the return of the hummingbirds from their winter homes in Mexico. Upon their return, these birds are eager for the nectar found in the hummingbird feeders located in various … Read more

The other day, I answered a request to volunteer with ticket sales at a softball tournament to be held at the high school field in our small town. It had been years since any of our children had participated in such activities, as they are … Read more

The day after I graduated from high school in Nebraska, USA, my family returned "home" to Arkansas where Dad started a new business. While there were family members in Little Rock, there were none of my own friends, and not even any … Read more

Many of us grew up in religious traditions that did not participate in Ash Wednesday services. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the forty days of Lent. Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Lutherans, Eastern Orthodox, and other … Read more

In thinking about a children's sermon I was to do for Lent, the question kept arising in my mind about how to talk to little children about Lent. Finally, I decided to use homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, … Read more

We live in a western town where several nationally-known artists live. Consequently, we take several magazines devoted to western art. One article was about John Nieto, an acclaimed Spanish/Indian artist, who suffered a stroke in 2002 which affected his speech … Read more