Sing, aged turtle, as you rise
  from the depths of the ocean’s brine;
sing of the world’s primal onset,
  of time and times and half a time.

Sing, tiny seeds dropped in the soil
  amidst the charred remains of trees;
sing of rebirth, of green and spring
  carried along by bees and breeze.

 Sing, giant ...

haiku for Lori

         Unhinged by wind
like hair falling out in clumps
     advancing new growth

Liz McFadzean

The wonderful thing about our God is that he always had a “work-around” for sin.  His work-around is one perfect atoning sacrifice for my sin and the sin of the world.  

I’m pretty careful these days with the word sin in any instance except in the case of my own.   I’ve noticed that we humans are v...

At the beginning of Lent, I distinguished harmony from unison singing.  When I longed for harmony, I wasn’t longing for total agreement, but for a melody of multiple voices in tune with one another.  So here, near the end of Lent, I go back to a similar refrain—I am longing for peace. 

Peace isn’t ...

Jesus is the one who has broken down the walls of hostility between humans.  I must be oh, so careful not to build them back, through unkind thoughts or broken systems.  So, this week I long for HUMILITY and EMPATHY. 

I’ve put these two words together because both require me to listen more and not ...

I used to believe that if I kept to my workout regimen, I wouldn’t ever lose my muscle tone.  I could keep my body and fitness forever.  I didn’t take into account the debilitating effects of plantar fasciitis.  An overuse injury, common to tennis players of a caliber much higher than mine, it has t...

“Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.  Open the eyes of my heart.
I want to see You; I want to see You.”          Michael W. Smith 

Today I am longing for VISION…. vision to see God and learn from him.  To know that what exists is so much more than what I see before me.  And yet to revel in seeing as if...

I enjoy the magazine “Real Simple” with its space-saving solutions, its paired down decor and clean lines.  I like the concept, but I can’t live that way.  My house is filled with so much stuff, and each item carefully placed in view has a memory attached or a useful purpose to perform. 

My brain i...

During the season preceding Easter, the devoted of certain Christian traditions often give up something or find a new discipline to adopt. One appropriate way of experiencing a holy Lent is to go through an extended period of self-examination.  Beginning on Ash Wednesday (today!) and culminating wit...

Last week I wrote about rainbows, those fleetingly ephemeral manifestations of water and light.  Over Christmas I saw one as I was driving through a brief shower on the freeway.  I wanted to stop and take a photograph, but by the time I had pulled off the highway it was gone.  Many of God’s blessing...