Found Poem: Words that Delight
Who among us does not have dreams that this year will be different? It is not over, this birthing. There are always newer skies into which God can throw stars. You enter the extraordinary by way of the ordinary. In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Even a thousand miles inland you...
Dream Big, Be Brave, and Hire an Editor
The New York Times Best Seller List began on October 12, 1931. As writers, we dream of hitting the best seller list. Don’t we wish we could do it easily, miraculously with our very first draft? Writing demands much of us and often, so do our dreams. We dream of the easy way: first draft = last...
Friends of the Blind Man at Bethsaida – Mark 8: 22-26
Josiah’s been my best friend since birth, or so our mothers say. I don’t remember us crawling in the dust together or toddling among the olive grove as our mothers gathered olives. What I do remember is how he loved trees, climbing them, even when we were so very tiny. Just when we were big...
Cross Training for Creativity
Any personal trainer will tell you that cross training is good for the body. If you swim, walk. If you walk, lift weights. If you lift weights, run. If you run, swim. You get the drift. Muscles become familiar with the familiar, even a bit sedated, so switching it up invites muscles to respond...
This Is About Poetry
This is about poetry. This is about prose. This is not about equations And this has never been about what’s only black and white. This is about moments captured in cinnamon and cayenne. This is about what is ancient. This is about what is fresh. This is not about what makes...
Touching the Hem of His Garment
Desperate. Shunned. Lonely. Long, long, long suffering. I vacillate between seeking healing one more time and believing that I shall never be healed. Why try? Why not try? Why try? Why not try? I’ve been dismissed. I’ve been given hope. I’ve grown sicker, not more healed. Now one more...
Psalm 43:3 A Reflection on Sending
Psalm 43:3 Send forth Your light and Your truth, Let them bring me to Your holy mountain, To the place where You dwell. O send forth Your Light here among darkness that so easily engulfs me. O send forth Your Truth here among too-easily believed lies. O send forth Your Light and Truth...
Spiritual Direction: An Inside View
Spiritual Dialogue Spiritual direction creates space for spiritual dialogue. As you allow time to pay attention to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you discover there is more to the conversation about your heart than you knew was bubbling just below the surface. Together,...
The Stations of the Cross
A Valley and a Hill One Good Friday holy habit is to meander slowly by The Stations of the Cross which depict Jesus’ last hours. In the center of San Luis, Colorado’s oldest town, a mesa rises above the vast valley, offering a poignant climb to Calvary. La Mesa de la Piedad y de...
Lectio Divina: New Path to Familiar Places
Dazed to Dazzling Out of Focus Familiarity breeds forgetfulness. When things feel too familiar, I cruise along on autopilot. Suddenly, I’m pulling up to the small Island branch of the library. How’d I get here? I don’t remember going past my favorite slow-down...
Answering the Question
Squirming came easy. Whether I was squished between my two younger sisters in the middle seat or stretched out on top of lumpy suitcases lining the rear compartment of the wood-paneled station wagon, finding a comfortable position required squirming creativity. * With windows rolled down...
