Faith

If you are interested in a devotional, please check out the page Faith Is the Hammer, Grace Is the Nail.

Faith is so personal, 
yet those of us who have it 
long to share it with those who need it. 
Because we know how it has changed our lives. 
For good. 
For better. 
For best. 
It doesn't eliminate struggles or pain; 
it simply reminds us of the promises, 
reminds us to be grateful, 
reminds us to love...

Tikkun Olam: where would i begin?

Just this morning my Bible reading brought me to chapter one of 1 Peter, where two verses jumped out at me: Be holy because He is holy (1:16) and …love one another deeply, from the heart. (1:22) They loomed large because they feel so impossible for me these days. I confess to having difficulty in loving my neighbor–and I use the word neighbor loosely. Kind of like asking Jesus, Who is my neighbor? and getting the reply that you know, but you don’t want to hear… Continue reading

Changing the Season of Darkness into the Season of Light

When we lived in the city we had a strategy for homeless people or those on the sidewalks with signs. We carried gift cards for Subway and gave them out one or two at a time. It seemed mostly satisfactory, until one day a guy asked how much was it worth. Later that same week I discovered a “cash-in your gift cards here”… Continue reading

When We Can No Longer Count on Normal

It’s a tough time to be reading Revelation, but here I am–at the last book in my two-year-journey through my journaling Bible–in December of 2020. These are some of the darkest days people here in ‘the new world’ have experienced in decades… Europeans were much more affected by World War II than we were, for it was fought… Continue reading

The Unexpected, Unwanted Lesson–Learning and Letting Go

This is a sermon I’ve been writing to myself. It may not apply to you. Just saying… Silly me. I thought at my advanced age, lessons in life were already learned. I’m old enough now to be the one offering sage advice rather than stressing over just what this lesson is supposed to teach me.

I know better than that really. The road we travel is never guaranteed to be smooth no matter how new or old your vehicle, no matter what season. It is the season of potholes… Continue reading

It’s Time

It’s time to put the garden to bed. A final weed and clean, with blankets of straw and leaves. Plant the garlic and mulch the greens with hopes of finding some after a freeze…. Continue reading

Favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis (Nov. 29,1898-Nov.22, 1963)

C.S. Lewis died on the same day that President John F. Kennedy was shot, so the news of his death was overshadowed, at least in the U.S.

Yet I owe my faith to this prolific faith-filled author. Years after Lewis’ Mere Christianity was published, I can credit that book with allowing me to step out of smug intellectual agnosticism and… Continue reading

Meanderings on Comfort

We used to jokingly call him King Henry The First. He died on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, a cat’s life, well live

I never felt right feeding birds while he was around; scattered bird seed was limited to very heavy snows when Henry was…. Continue reading

The Color of Light

We’ve been on a mission trip to Alabama for the last week, and I am feeling contemplative…

Color is Light – every color in white
Refracted, Reflected
Rays from the sun.
Azure, Vermilion, Lavender, Dun
Every shade, every hue – gritty gray, brilliant blue …

A Stillness in Time

I’ve been experimenting with black and white photography these past two weeks. Perhaps it is a bit ironic that as autumn’s colors are at its most glorious, I’m choosing black and white. It could be that my camera can’t capture the beauty of fall; but I think it is more of a mood. I hear … Continue reading

The Promise

The promise of Spring is here
buried under the snow of February.
The earth awakens from sleep.
Just as Jesus can awaken the…
Continue Reading.

Sundays at the Cottage

There’s been much chaos in my life lately…. Dashing between two houses, fixing up one to live in, fixing up one to sell, both of us working jobs, and trying to balance everything? I am failing BIG TIME! We went into this with … Continue Reading

Perfectionism, Part 1: The Curse

All our lives we’re told, “Do your best.” “If you do your best, that’s all anyone can ask.” And what, exactly, is our best? How many times can we have a do over? When and how do we draw the line between “our best” and OCD? And who ultimately gives us the final grade? Friends? …Continue reading

Perfectionism, Part 2: The Blessings

Last night I was reclining in bed, surrounded by pillows, books, notebooks, and reading glasses, writing a blog post on my IPhone. These phones are very handy when one has a thought and doesn’t want to lose it in the quagmire of daily living (or nightly dreaming). I was about to save the post when … Continue reading

The Cure for Christmas Scrooges

I’ve been feeling rather like a scrooge these days. The world’s a mess, it’s dark december, and why should i buy more stuff when so much of the world doesn’t have enough…The cure? Decorate your tree with old ornaments and don’t buy a single new one… Continue reading

Plain, Mundane, and Common

My inbox is filling up with Christmas ideas: Group your Christmas trees together in threes and make a statement; DIY giant Glitter Snowflakes; Twelve Days of Cookie recipes; 22 Best Kids’ Gifts under $20; The best Christmas songs you’ve never heard…

The emotions are mixed on this folks because… Continue reading

Blessings on your House

For the rest of Advent and Christmas I will be finishing up my gratitude project for the past year. It was never meant to be anything but for me to document my gratitude and blessings, and help me be intentional about living a joy-filled life for… Continue reading

the quality of mercy is not strained…

i have a friend who has demons in his head…. Continue reading

On Mowing and Marriage and Trying to Be Like Jesus

There’s very little in life that I like less than mowing grass. Reasons? Oh yeah, I got plenty: What a waste of time–I could be gardening, reading, writing, washing dishes, mopping the kitchen floor; What a waste of gasoline and added pollution–I could be growing food, or flowers, or sheep… Continue reading

Refraction

the change of direction
of a ray of light
or sound,
in passing obliquely
from one medium into another
in which
wave velocity
is
different… Continue reading