Paradise missing

You have to feed paradise. You can’t expect it to bloom on its own! 

It’s Dangerous to Notice

The thing about paying attention is… you notice stuff. So, when you look up and see this: then you stop and stare and wonder if you can get a photo as beautiful as this tree. You draw near and realize you have to trespass on their front lawn to position yourself in just such a way that the […]

Suddenly Still

Stillness is a shock to the system. The screeching of tires, the squealing of wheels, the swerving and maneuvering to get out of the way. When the smoke clears and the dust settles, it takes a bit of righting to find balance. Turns out, forward momentum can keep you upright through pretty much any squall, but stillness…now […]

What is your place of abiding?

“Jesus came for a far more radically transforming purpose than to serve as a role model. Jesus came to invite us into a living relationship with him, to abide, live and move in his spirit, as the branch abides in the living vine. Just as the bird does not imitate the air or the fish […]

Firm Outside, Flexible Inside

Inflexible, rigid, immovable, carved in stone…There’s a place for these, but in me is not that place. I’m meant to give. My body says so. I’m meant to be flexible, able to bend against the storms of life and not snap. I’m meant to be supple, easily folded, twisted and worked into shape. I’m meant to be […]

The Nesting Tree

You would have loved my mom. She was diligent and dutiful, industrious and ingenious, fashionable and fastidious, a loyal friend and devoted spouse. If there were room-moms back then, she would’ve been a great one. If there were sports-Mom awards given, she would have been well-decorated. She cooked a mean pot roast, prepared an awesome peach pie and baked chocolate […]

What is Silence?

Silence. not, “Quiet!” not, “Enough already!” not, “Shut the ____ up!” These leave a ringing in the ears that deafens. Dulls the senses. Obliterates the moment. Castigates the quiet. Silence, you are not this. Silence, neither are you the quiet left by absence, which shutters the senses. You ring hollow, mournful, empty. Silence, you are […]

Can we hurry patiently?

Patience is an ever present alternative to the mind’s endemic restlessness and impatience. Scratch the surface of impatience and what you will find lying beneath it, subtly or not so subtly, is anger. It’s the strong energy of not wanting things to be the way they are and blaming someone (often yourself) or some thing […]

Take Away Everything

Where does the time go? What happened to my days? They’re endless What happened to my weekends? They’re overrun What happened to my vacation? It’s absent What’s become of the order in my life? Oh Child, I did not create the clock, You did. I did not create weekdays and weekends, You did. I did […]