I don’t create, I rearrange
I am not creative. I do not create something from nothing. That was done once, only once. I rearrange. Been rearranging since the beginning of me. Today, I give thanks for the gift of creativity. The desire to look at a thing and all that surrounds it and try out the combinations. What goes here? […]
Select, Elite or Chosen?
“That I am chosen to minister means to let other people discover that they are chosen, too.” ~ Henri Nouwen For so many of us, chosen takes us back to that moment on the playground when the captains were choosing up sides. The best kids go first. The worst were saved for last. It was […]
Open Letter to Santa
Dear Santa That’s as far as I got on my letter. I don’t remember the last time I wrote a letter to Santa. But this year I have pledged to do one thing each day that a kid would do. Of course a kid would write a letter to Santa, so here it sits on […]
Call me Classic, But Don’t Call Me Old
When my kids call me “classic,” it’s their not-so-veiled way of calling me old. While growing older is something I can’t avoid, and don’t want to, given the alternative, old is not a way I want to be, especially not at Christmas. It used to be easy to do kid-stuff when our children were small. […]
Prayer for Hope and Strength
Almighty God, You reach into the darkness with hope, truth and light. Stretch out your strong hand in this situation, in our circumstance, in your world. Hold and rescue those who have suffered. Let your almighty love move mountains, cross seas and breathe life into the darkest places. Light that redeems. Light that restores. Light […]
Helicopter Parenting: It’s Biblical!
“… the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. “What is it you want?” (Jesus) asked. She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” (Matthew 20:20-21) Oh my goodness, we’ve […]
Are you leaving a margin?
What if we printed our books and wrote our essays right up to the very edges leaving no margin? Wouldn’t that be a much a better use of our space. Why waste all that good white paper around the edges? I know. I know. The book publishers out there will tell me it’s easier on […]
Order in Chaos: can’t you see it?
As I look down this tunnel of books packed floor to ceiling, I hear… du-doo, du-doo, du-doo, du-doo. I am pretty sure Rod Serling is about to tell me I have crossed over into … “The Twilight zone.” I am standing in the back of a small bookstore in Lake Junaluska, NC. On entering, I […]
Play needs no purpose
Play needs no purpose. That is why play can go on and on as long as players find it meaningful. After all, we do not dance in order to get somewhere. We dance around and around. A piece of music doesn’t come to an end when its purpose is accomplished. It has no purpose, strictly […]
What is life? Any puppy can show you
Are you alive? How can you tell? Frederic Martini, the author of my Anatomy and Physiology textbook, says that, “though the world around us contains an enormous diversity of living organisms that vary widely in appearance and lifestyle … biologists have found that all living things share certain basic characteristics.” These include: Responsiveness Growth and […]