Blog
What’s next?
Inevitably, if you write a book or create a work of art, people ask what you’re up to next. Maybe that’s true for anything. When you get your degree, people ask when you will get another degree. When you get a job, they ask what kind of work you’d like next. When...
Celebration as a Spiritual Discipline
Albert Einstein said, “You can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle.” Isn’t that the essence of celebration? If we are attentive, in upbeat places of the heart, we can see the miracle of what God is up to in the moment at hand. We can see the...
The Shape of New Beginnings
I’ve been asking God how He wants to shape me for this new year. Not a resolution. Not a goal. A clarifying of who I am to be, how I am to become. I’ve been listening for His response, waiting to hear. As Advent turned to Christmas, as December moved towards January, I’ve journaled,...
Alert for Betweens
Between This line And the next My thoughts burst forth Like fireworks Shimmering against The dark. Between This line And the next I may have strolled around the block Or down the lane. I may have stopped and chatted with a friend Over a cup of Earl Grey tea. Between This...
The Habit of Poetry
“I want to be a better writer, so I try to read a poem a day,” says L. L. Barkat. I agree. Reading poetry is like the interplay of chocolate and oranges: rich, juicy, tart, and unexpected. It changes how I look at words and how I write them. Poetry came into my life early:...
Saints Abound
All Saints’ Day In the middle of this week which holds All Hallows’ Eve and All Saints’ Day, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on those who have gone on before us, as well as on the here and now. Whenever I come to this season of the year, I think of Hebrews 11. This “Saint’s...
The Serious Business of Sampling the World
With utter delight, he gobbles down bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, a sliver of a grilled cheese sandwich, and slices of chicken. He chews, smells, then smears his food on his highchair, his dimpled cheeks, and his tiny chin. Some bits of bites he tosses over the edge of the tray,...
Fresh Fiction Fritters (or any other creative endeavor, for that matter)
Baking up a batch of dreams… Whisk together one part hope and one part determination over a long space of desire. Mix until fluffy and light. Marinade mixture in an aromatic infusion of creativity, whimsy, and delight. At this point, the concoction hints of essence of characters and plot,...
Riddles and Rhythms: Lectio Divina: Ancient yet New
“What do these three things have in common?” creates a wonderful riddle game for long road trips. For instance, what does a beehive, a rooster, and a barbershop have in common? Combs. What do reservations, awful television series, and postage stamps have in common? They can all be canceled....
Summer’s End
I tug the paper-thin blanket snuggly around me, inhaling dawn’s air, as crisp and brilliant as the orange carrots, as the fresh and green leafy spinach received yesterday from my CSA. Though the calendar reads August, if I didn’t know better, I’d say it was autumn already. In Colorado fall...
Remnants
Rivulets steam and stream Salty, hot, Under this thick non-woven Breathing face mask, Meant to keep out A million miniscule molecules Of ash, one remnant of That rant of fire That leapt the canyons and dry ridges, In one pyrocumulus moment Then consumed, decimated, This now catastrophed...
What would you grab in a fire?
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. Walking early with a friend, we inhaled Colorado’s beauty as the sun rose, glowed on western ridges, and illuminated Pikes Peak. Usually snow-capped in June, how bare it looked now due to winter’s snow drought. Another outlandishly hot, dry day loomed...
