Tag: women's history month

Mary Magdalene Ends Women’s History Month
Christianity · Easter · My Thoughts · Spirituality

Mary Magdalene Ends Women’s History Month

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Mary Magadalene
Saint Mary Magdalene, circa 1524. Creator: Bernardino Luini. (Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Mary Magdalene isn’t a personal woman friend, but how apropos to end International Women’s History Month with her. So, I changed my original mission of focusing on personal women friends to feature her this Easter day.

Happy Easter! Yes, I had heard her name before and read about her in the gospels, but who was she?

“Mary Magdalene is probably one of the most versatile and controversial people in the Bible.
She’s been seen as the sorrowful sinner, the Apostle to the Apostles, Jesus’s wife/girlfriend, a guardian of secret knowledge, a chaste saint, a feminist icon, and a scandalous woman who is healed and repents.”

https://www.christepiscopalbing.com/who-was-mary-magdalene/

The Gospels mention her by name thirteen times! Mary Magdalene plays a major role in today’s gospel reading from John 20:1-18, so that’s why I wanted to focus on her. Early that first Easter morn, Mary Magdalene ventured to the tomb with two other women, Mary the mother of James, and Salome to bring spices to anoint Jesus’ body.

“The main reason a dead body was anointed with spices was to control the smell of decomposition. Jews did not practice embalming, and the funeral spices were a way to help minimize unpleasant odors. The spices the women brought to Jesus’ tomb were intended to eliminate such an odor and honor the body of Christ.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/anointing-spices.html

Empty Tomb & Jesus Leaving the Tomb
Empty Tomb
Jesus Leaving the Tomb

When they arrived, to their surprise, someone had rolled away the gigantic stone. I wonder how they planned to get into the tomb in the first place. Obviously, this band of women wouldn’t let a little thing like a big stone stop them from honoring Jesus’ body. But what now?

Where were the men, the disciples? Sleeping in? So, Mary Magdalene and company ran back and got Peter and John. The two disciples and the women raced to the tomb and found it empty, except for the linen cloth Jesus’ body was wrapped in and the kerchief that had been on His head. The two men left without any answers, wondering what all this meant.

Mary Magdalen cires

But Mary Magdalene stayed and received a major blessing with her persistence. She wept, she cried, and peeked into the tomb one last time. Again, another surprise—two angels appeared and she questioned them. Then because she stayed and didn’t leave, Mary Magdalene became the first to witness the risen Jesus.

Jesus - Mary Magdalene

At first, she didn’t recognize him, but when He spoke her name, she immediately knew it was Him. Of course, she wanted to hug Him! He was dead! He had come back to life! Thoughts raced through her head—I saw him on the cross three days ago. The Roman guard pierced His side, but here He is!

As she went to grab Him, Jesus warned her to not hold on. So what did she do? Again, Mary Magdalene raced to the disciples to tell them she had seen Jesus alive—the first witness of the resurrected Jesus!

As I pondered this story in church this morning, I realized God honored Mary Magdalene’s dedication in going to the tomb early that first Easter so long ago, her persistence in staying at the tomb in her grief and confusion, and her resilience in sharing the Good News about Jesus with the disciples.

Where would Christianity be today if she had trudged back with Peter and John and missed her opportunity to see the Risen Lord? To witness his resurrected body? To share with the disciples his resurrection?

Mary Magdalene’s message for me: Stay committed to my heart’s dedications. She reminds me to honor my grief and confusion any time by standing still where I am and not running away and then my God will share a serendipitous moment with Jesus.

Jesus is Alive! - Mary Magdalene

I hope your Easter has been blessed and that Mary Magdalene takes on a more meaningful role in your life today. So often, so many cultures today disparaged women around the world today, but this proves to me that my God believes women have an equal place in the world—He had a woman be the first witness of the Resurrected Jesus. That says a lot! And who can disagree with God?

Lastly, my book cover for Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir, won 1st place in the March nonfiction book cover contest on AllAuthors.com.  Thanks to all who supported me this month by voting on each round! I know I emailed you and posted on all my social media sites many times, but it worked—because of you!

Hair on Fire - 1st Place Book Cover Winner - Mary Magdalene

Enjoy my recent interview on the podcast, The Writing Table

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir

~ Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir available in audiobook format at the following places:

~SHOP TODAY FOR YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY! Shop at my Etsy Shop or my Shopify Store

Two Loveland Girlfriends Celebrated: After 40 Years!
Friends · My Thoughts

Two Loveland Girlfriends Celebrated: After 40 Years!

Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment
Sherrie, Larada and Lynn on a Zoom meeting - Loveland
Sherrie, Larada and Lynn on a Zoom meeting

Two Loveland girlfriends continue to be a part of my life forty years later! I continue with my Women’s History Month focus. We meet once a month on Zoom, and yesterday we met and I interviewed them for this blog post! Here they are: Lynn Hafer and Sherrie Crandal!

Loveland Friend, Lynn Hafer

Lynn & Larada Smiling in 2018
Lynn and Larada in Loveland in 2018
Larada Goofing around with Lynn in 2018

Lynn and I met in 1979 when my first husband and I moved to Loveland, Colorado. She worked at a real estate office part time and greeted us warmly. She worked full time as a lab tech. Being hospitable, Lynn asked us about any church affiliation. We told her we had already connected with the priest at All Saints, the Episcopal church there. Excited, she said, “That’s where I go!” And from then on, I saw her weekly and our friendship grew.

Later that year, my first husband and I planned a trip to Mexico, and because of her extensive travel experience, Lynn guided us in our first international trip and a second one later—wise suggestions that helped me a lot then and I continue to use to this day.

After my first divorce, Lynn and I became travel partners, venturing to the Mexican Yucatan peninsula several times. From my first sight of Mayan ruins, I was hooked! After our trips to several sites there—Cobá, Chicken Itza, and Tulum, we decided to visit the biggest Mayan ruin in Guatemala in Tikal which was our last international trip!

That trip turned out to be a trip of a lifetime! On the first leg of the trip, we flew into Guatemala City and caught a boat out to Cay Caulker to spend a relaxing week on the island, snorkeling and enjoying the tropical setting. Then we rode the Batty Brothers Bus service from Guatemala City to catch a plane to Tikal. The oversized ruins overwhelmed the jungle and delighted us so.

Larada on top of Tikal, Guatemala
Larada on top of Tikal, Guatemala
Lynn Goofing around on top of Tikal, Guatemala
Lynn Goofing around on top of Tikal, Guatemala

(This afternoon, I grabbed my photo album of our Guatemala trip and would have shared more photos, but the snow has blocked our StarLink connection and I can’t scan them!)

After each trip, we came home with hilarious stories and experiences, like the time we added an ex-nun and ex-priest who married to our entourage to go see Chicken Itza. At that time, Mexico had a gas shortage, and he tried to help us siphon some gas and sucked on the hose too hard and ingested gas—Ugh!

During our first trip to Mexico, Lynn taught me how to compromise. We ended up at Playa del Carmen when we thought we were going to be in Cancun. Some experienced travelers advised us to rent a car in Cancun and enjoy that side of the peninsula, so we did! I desperately wanted to go Chicken Itza, but we had received some advice from locals not to drive the “short cut” there because of “the banditos,” but we were running out of time. The longer route would take more time. Lynn showed me how to weigh the pros and cons, to be honest about what I wanted and to compromise! I had never experienced anything like that in my young life (I was about 28-30 years old at the time).

On our last trip in 1990, we did a “Tony Hillerman” tour of Arizona and New Mexico, camping out at the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. What a time we had!

Yesterday, Lynn shared a story about me talking in my sleep on many of our trips, but sited one particular event. I raised up in bed and told her there was someone in the room. She told me no there wasn’t and to go back to sleep—and I did!

Lynn has two sons, and I have been especially close to her youngest, Chris, who joined our conversation yesterday!

Lynn and I stayed connected over the years with her a regular at two of my weddings: to Mike in 1992 and to Lin in 2011 when she was one of my bride maids. In 2011, we introduced Lynn to square dancing at our wedding and she went home and started lessons!

Larada, Lin, Lynn & Mom in Branson - Loveland
Larada, Lin, Lynn & Mom in Branson

When Lynn joined me in Branson, Colorado, it was always a treat and Mom loved her dearly. Over the years, I stopped in at her home in Loveland traveling with my ex-husband and his family, with Mom on a couple of trips and with Lin! Lynn’s hospitality always welcomed me back.

Loveland Friend, Sherrie Crandal

In 1982, I went back to school at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado to become a teacher. I bought a mobile home with two extra bedrooms. My God provided me with the best roommates in Sherrie Crandal and her son, Aaron that year.

We met at All Saints Episcopal church and became fast friends. Not having children, I wondered about taking in a woman with a youngster as a roommate. It turned out to be an amazing blessing.

Christmas 1982, I had strep throat really bad, and we planned to go home to Branson. So, Sherrie drove, and I watched a horrible snowstorm following us down the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The storm hit after we arrived, so we celebrated a beautiful, white Christmas. Dad thoroughly enjoyed taking them out on the ranch in the snow.

Aaron & Sherrie in Branson for Christmas in 1982 - Loveland
Aaron & Sherrie in Branson for Christmas in 1982

Sherrie remembered all the food Mom had prepared for just us! And I remember Sherrie getting up Christmas Eve morning and making a Christmas Tree Coffee Cake to die for!

She reminded me of a party I hosted with my international friends from the university with no alcohol and what a great time it was!

Sherrie and Aaron stayed with me for about two years, and this living arrangement helped us both financially and emotionally. I was recently divorced and hurting. They were new to Loveland, and being a single mom, she needed the financial help too. Sherrie and Aaron repeatedly filled my home with love and laughter. They went to Branson with me to visit my folks, and we enjoyed dancing at Branson dances. They left Loveland in 1990 for Arizona to live near her mother.

When I married Mike in 1992, Sherrie and Aaron came from Arizona to the wedding in Albuquerque, but we lost contact for almost thirty years. I sent her my yearly Christmas letter and card, but we had no conversations about major life events.

During those absent thirty years, Sherrie got her teaching degree in early childhood development and a masters degree in special education.

Then the pandemic hit! Because Lin and I took the shelter-in-place mandate seriously, we isolated here in our mountain home. The isolation set me to thinking about key people in my life I had lost contact with, and Sherrie came to mind. So, I emailed her about doing a Zoom meeting.

After our first one, which was full of ohs and ahs about our lives, we added Lynn Hafer and the three of us have met monthly since 2020! During each gathering, we updated each other on our lives. We laugh a lot. We share titles of books we’re reading, and we love each other.

I’ve known both of these amazing women for over forty years. Yesterday, when they were sharing stories about our lives together for this blog, we laughed—I grabbed my face and shrieked at some of those memories I had forgotten. Forty years, they have known me and loved me.

Finally, Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you! I hope you celebrated your Irish heritage today, even if you have none! And remember to celebrate all of your friends, especially those who have known you through thick and thin, like my two Loveland girlfriends!

I’m in 4th place in the third round! I’m getting closer to clinch the “Cover of the Month” contest on AllAuthor! I need as much support from you guys as possible. Please take a short moment to vote for my book cover here:  https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/17423/

Enjoy my recent interview on the podcast, The Writing Table

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir

~ Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir available in audiobook format at the following places:

~SHOP TODAY FOR YOUR AUTOGRAPHED COPY! Shop at my Etsy Shop or my Shopify Store

Celebrate Women This Month!
family · My Thoughts

Celebrate Women This Month!

Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments
Mom with her Panda hat on!
Mom at a Branson-Trinchera Reunion!
Mom with horseshoe sunglasses

March—Women’s History Month! Did you know that? What a thrilling discovery! So, over the next four weeks, I plan on celebrating four women in my life and history. Some are dead; some are still alive! It doesn’t matter because they still have had an intact on me!

First, here’s a great resource with pictures from Dr. Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress to Sojourner Truth, three-quarter length portrait, standing, wearing spectacles, shawl and peaked cap, right hand resting on cane. What a wide variety of pictures of women in our history. Look at: https://womenshistorymonth.gov/about/

Now, more focused for me—where else would I start the celebration of women? My Mom—Elva Marie Dickerson Horner. Celebrating her this month has a poignant ring to it—she died March 23, 2013, ten years ago! In so many ways, that’s hard to believe! It seems longer; yet it seems like yesterday.

On March 23, 2013, at 5:10 pm, Dad and Jesus won—Dad had waited up there for seventeen long years to dance with the love of his life again. Jesus agreed with him, and the pull towards heaven won, and Mom passed from this world to the next.

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Elva Marie Dickerson Horner was born on September 24, 1928 to Virgil and Tresia Dickerson in Des Moines, NM. Mom joined her 9-year-old sister, Willa Lee.

Aunt Willie and Mom - women
Aunt Willie and Mom

Being the youngest child in the Dickerson home, Willa Lee tells a story about Mom: “when we went to the post office she would lie down on me—on the ground and throw a fit. I reached inside the fence and got me a switch. (Pause) She didn’t do that again.”

Living through the depression, Mom endured a hard life, living in a shack with dirt floors. Grandma would wet the dirt down and pack it hard, and Mom got in trouble for digging little holes afterwards.

Her Marriage and Family Life is Coming!

Mom loved to dance her whole life. A certain cowboy caught her eye at a dance. She noticed his unique dance style. At the Robin Hood Bar in Raton, New Mexico, he crossed the dance floor towards her. She knew he was going to ask her to dance. Then she panicked, and the romance of a lifetime started with Harold Horner, my dad. They dated; they danced!

Dad and Mom on their wedding day - women
Dad and Mom on their wedding day

Then, Dad and Mom were married on August 28, 1951 in Raton, New Mexico. Their married life that would span 45 years had begun. Mom immediately became stepmother to three small children and faced the trials of being a stepmom, but the children lived with their mom in Denver. They visited Mom and Dad regularly.

As newlyweds, they moved in with Dad’s parents in Branson, Colorado, and experience a small-town tradition—chevarier. Friends short-sheeted the beds, removed labels off all the canned goods, and Mom, the bride, had a wheelbarrow ride around town. Dad’s parents had the joy (and despair) of sharing this country tradition and all the effects.

Then Dad and Mom bought their own first home from the Stephenson’s a few months later—lock, stock & barrel. After the birth of my brother and me (thirteen months later), Mom’s family was intact! Her family grew with marriages, then nine grandchildren came, and then fifteen great grandchildren. She celebrated each addition to our family, so I witnessed a woman dedicated to her family.

Mom cherished family get-togethers and holidays. Her father-in-law, Laurence, loved to have family get-togethers at our house because of Mom’s cooking and hospitality!

Her Life in The Community

Lots of life happened in Branson through the years. Mom enjoyed not only her own children, but my brother’s and my friends in the community. She was happiest when her kitchen and adjacent dining room were full of young people. Mom maintained close relationships with many of these children into their adulthood.

After Granddad Horner died, Mom became Dad’s right-hand man, able to do anything on the ranch. She worked hard! In fact, in 1989, she fell off of a haystack and broke her wrist when I was teaching in Raton, New Mexico, right before shipping time. So, several rancher’s wives and I stepped in and helped cook and serve the meal to the shipping crew.

As Dad’s health worsened, I watched Mom lovingly cared for him until the end. What an example of dedicated love!

Mom’s Interests

Mom had a variety of interests:

She was an avid sports fan of all Branson sports. When Bub played, she yelled loudly at basketball games, drowning out other parents. For many years, Mom sat in the same place every game with a dear friend.

In the 70s, Mom got interested in genealogy and researched both the Dickerson and Horner sides extensively. In 1999, we traveled to Eastern Europe because of her genealogy interests, looking for connections to her granddad, who immigrated here as a castaway with no records of entry into the US. Today, I cherish her black ledger with all of her records. I joined her in this interest and have entered her data into an app on my computer, Family Tree Maker.

Girlfriends have been a part of Mom’s life forever: Ellen Berry in high school; Clara Warner, Nancy Salas & Mokey McMillan years ago; Helen Waldroup; Betty Clark and Rose Ward.

Learn More About Mom

Mom had an abiding faith and became baptized and a faithful member of the Des Moines, New Mexico Methodist church, attending every Sunday with her niece and her husband. She looked forward to the time after church when a group went to a local restaurant for lunch—and a little gossiping! Her faith lasted until the end.

All of us have evidence of Mom’s beautiful handiworks: afghans, quilts, Christmas ornaments and more.

I remember Mom as quite the prankster—she loved a good practical joke. If you fell asleep at her house in the living room, a good chance you would end up with whipped cream on your nose! That is just one of her many tricks!

Often when I was with Mom, I enjoyed the privilege of hearing her laughter, so rich and inviting, seeing her eyes twinkle and her joy for living.

Mom and I in our matching Christmas Outfits - women
Mom and I in our matching Christmas Outfits

As you can see, Mom touched my life and many others. She formed me and others to be the women we are today, and I will be forever grateful for my mom! So be sure to celebrate the women in your life this month by doing something special for them.

Mom’s Purple Bear

Recently my husband, Lin, went through our house collecting things for a rummage sale for the Garden Center in Albuquerque. I had a purple bear on the bed in our guest bedroom I gave Mom in her dying days. Somehow the purple bear ended up in a stack of stuffed toys, and he took it to the rummage sale to sell.

Afterwards we were in the guest bedroom, and I looked at bed and realized the purple bear had disappeared. Then I looked at the top of the bookshelf where the other various stuffed toys had ended and they were gone. I realized our house cleaners probably put the bear up with the others innocently.

When I told him where I thought the precious purple bear ended up, he returned to the sale before it started, went through bags and found it. He received cheers from the workers there because he had told them, “I have to save my marriage. I have to find that bear!”

Mom embrace that bear tightly in the hospital after I gave it to her, and we kept it near her until her dying day. Lin blessed my heart with his extreme effort to retrieve it!

Finally,

What women are you celebrating this month? Have you even thought about it? Which woman has influenced you? Why?

News, News, News!

My five books meme - women
All available at my website: laradasbooks.com or Amazon.com

~For me, it’s Christmas all year long! Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A

Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? meme
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy a chapter!

~My new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? WON the 2022 New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in the Body, Mind & Spirit Category. Have you bought your copy yet? Vist my website: laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.

Just Another Square Dance Caller: Authorized Biography of Marshall Flippo meme
A relaxed time with a latte and Flippo!

~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been three years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.