Virtual Pokemon, Real Prayer
Pray upon rising and before retiring. Pray before you eat, before you speak, before you act. Pray yourself into your day, all along and through your day. Pray without ceasing. I’m all good intentions. It’s just that once I get going, I get rolling and don’t think to stop. So I slipped a reminder rubber band around my […]
Thank you tosses and goes, Gratitude stays and helps
“I can say what I want. It’s a free country!” the kid said, shoving his friend a little harder than a friend shoves a friend. The rest of us standing in line to board the flight pretended not to notice these boys ‘doing what boys do’. That kid is feeling pretty free. I’m thinking he probably has […]
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 […]
God Bless America: The verse we have forgotten
Did you know that God Bless America doesn’t start with the words God Bless America? There is a verse preceding the chorus we know as the song. It is a preamble, if you will, or a statement of intention about the words to be sung. This is how God Bless America really begins: “While the storm […]
Pure Joy! It’s Your Party!
It’s complete pandemonium, folks! The crowd roars as the team is announced. They break into song as the players stride to the podium. The roar is deafening as they hoist the championship trophy. It is ours. After decades of waiting and a lifetime of work, we have won it! Pure joy! This is the scene as […]
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 […]
In a breath, out a prayer
*As you inhale, breathe in God’s love. As you exhale, let go of anything blocking that love. . . . . Cool. Crisp. Moist. Expansive Stretching Full Hold it Hold it Can’t. Won’t. Must! Hissssss His. * Karla M. Kincannon, in Creativity and Divine Surprise.
How would life look if we became the change we want to see?
How quick are we to fantasize how life might be, if only what we wished for were true. If life were different, I would be successful. If life were different, I would be recognized. If life were different, I would be loved the way I want to be loved. If life were different. What might […]
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 […]
Keeping Christmas Real
What if Christmas isn’t the “most wonderful time of the year”? What if it’s lonely? I’m sick, I’m lost It’s terminal? What if I’m missing someone? She’s gone away, He’s gone to heaven They’ve passed to I don’t know where? What if it’s smothering? They don’t understand Won’t accept me back This is as good […]