Jan to Dec (click here for 2021) ~ My YouTube channel is “Poiema K”

Thanks for visiting wp.krigline.com. Sorry I don’t often find time to post updates. Sometimes I squeeze in some pictures, looking back at the end of the year. But you can check the “latest posts” block to see what is new, and remember that I also post resources at EFLsuccess.com. 

By the way, we love to connect with old friends! When IFM’s Friday program meets “in person” (during the school year) I’m usually there, but in the summer old friends may be able to chat with me during IFM’s weekly Friday night Zoom gathering (see sidebar graphic). Even if I’m not online, please visit! Everything is always free, and everyone is welcome. From 7:30-8pm, guests talk casually with American volunteers who enjoy meeting our international friends; after 8, there’s an English lesson. The meeting ID and passcode are always the same, or you can write to the address shown for more info.

Dec 2022

Start at the bottom, and end here in December.

It was a VERY full year, and these photos just look at a handful of highlights. But a rich life is made up of rich days, filled with a variety of experiences, and a diverse body of friends and relatives!

I’ll end our 2022 blog by passing on one of the most unique Christmas gifts I’ve ever received. At our extended family Christmas gathering, each participant customarily chooses and wraps a gift, not knowing which family member will get it (in a contest, drawing, etc). Sometimes the gift is chosen to bring laughter, sometimes it is something practical or delicious. Sometimes we open the gift and stare at it in bewilderment — until we read the attached explanation. Such was the case when a gift bag was opened, revealing the multi-part gift from Vivian’s niece Vickie. Here was her remarkable explanation.

Merry Christmas! This gift has many parts, to remind you of the real reason for the season.

1. A loaf of bread; for Jesus said “I Am the Bread of Life”: Jesus alone can sustain us, who are but starving beggars looking for food (John 6).
2. Electric candles; “I Am the Light of the World”: Jesus is the original and eternal source of light in the universe for us who are spiritually blind by birth (John 8).
3. A door; “I Am the Gate/Door of the Sheepfold”: Jesus is the only door to life for us who are lost outside God’s will (John 10).
4. Wooly slippers; “I Am the Good Shepherd”: Jesus knows and cares for us who are orphaned, wandering sheep without a shepherd (John 10).
5. Batteries (which give life to toys and machines); “I Am the Resurrection and the Life”: Jesus is the key to escaping spiritual death for us who are hopelessly doomed to death because of our sin (John 11).
6. A globe/map; “I Am the Way, Truth, and Life”: Jesus is the accessible path, the illuminating truth, and the giver of life for us who are lost, ignorant, and dead without Him (John 14).
7. Ivy vines; “I Am the True Vine”: Jesus is the source of eternal life for us who are dead and useless branches apart from him (John15).
8. Salt; Jesus is the “I Am.” He is everywhere, everything, and “every-when.” As the songwriter Oscar Bernadotte wrote more than a century ago, YOU are now to be the Salt of the Earth
~ Vickie Stewart Dec 25, 2022

Nov 2022

Oct 2022

Sept 2022

Aug 2022

June-July 2022

May 2022

You can see why I rarely found time to update my blog! Teaching refugees, working with international students, grandkids, yard/house-work, the Columbia International Festival, and a lot more that requires hours on a computer — it all keeps me active!

The Columbia International Festival was May 21-22 this year.

April 2022

Mar 2022

The most life-changing development was when Vivian broke her ankle. It’s amazing how a moment of distraction can so alter one’s life, but Vivian can’t drive for a while, which complicates our lives and the lives of our grandchildren. Still, we’re grateful that we basically need patience and time for this to heal–not surgery or worse. As if life isn’t complicated enough, sometime in late March this website went “offline.” I know little about the mechanical aspects of running a website, so (once I discovered the issue) it took days to fix the problems–and even now, the site/layout looks a little different. If you find a link or something that isn’t working properly, I’d love to hear about it.

Feb 2022

Jan 2022

We’ll start with some photos and captions from January….

(click here for 2021) 

©2022 Michael Krigline. For contact info, visit About Us. To make a contribution, see our Website Standards and Use Policy page (under “About Us”). Pre-2015 blogs can still be found on our old archive pages.