a prophetic voice-

You know that old adage, "Into each life a little rain must fall"? Well, mine "fell" yesterday morning in the form of a bottle of olive oil. You see, early yesterday, as I was preparing some of the food which would be consumed so eagerly my whole family later in the day, I opened a cabinet to get a bottle of olive oil, but instead of grasping it, I bumped it somehow, causing it to fall on my left foot. It hurt like the very devil, and I hopped around muttering vague obscenities under my breath (the rest of the household was asleep and I was trying to be considerate), then retrieved my reliable remedy, Arnica, rubbed it on the aching toe, and promptly forgot about it in the overwhelming busyness of the day, during which I was almost continuously on my feet. Only after the last of the thundering herd (I say this with deepest affection, you understand) had departed, the dishwasher was loaded, the carpet vacuumed, and the house generally returned to some...

After an emotionally draining week, I decided what I needed was some play, and so I've been playing with a new app on my Kindle, Pic Collages. Such fun. You see, I'm not one of those folks who makes photo albums- though I did  do that for each of my three children a number of years ago as a Christmas gift. But I have so many photos stored in my computer and on the Cloud, and when I discovered this app, I just began having fun. So far, I've completed six of them and I intend to do more. They'll be saved in "my photos" so I can take them out and look at them whenever I choose. So lovely. And in case you missed the ones I've posted on Facebook, I'll include them here. Play is indeed a grand and glorious gift of God.  

A difficult week...there's no other way to put it. Beginning with a memorial service for the son of a dear woman in my congregation -the third son this woman has lost- just after returning from a restful but emotional retreat in the NC mountains...followed by a Tuesday e-mail from a dear high school friend, telling me of the accidental death of the husband of another classmate (A freak accident, actually- he was felling a tree and it hit him, killing him instantly)...to Thursday evening's totally unexpected death due to a massive stroke of a precious friend and fellow pilgrim, Suzanne Goddard... to yesterday's arrival of her lovely and very personal Christmas card (she had been at the post office doing her Christmas mailing when the symptoms began). And today, I am wrung out...physically, emotionally, and, yes, spiritually. On Sunday, for the memorial service, I used at the text for my brief homily, Psalm 22, which begins, My God, my God, why have you forsa...

I have been gifting myself with the reading of an amazing book, yet another product of the husband/wife team of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. A Path Appears should be required reading for every high school and college student. In fact, it should be required reading for every citizen of this nation. When I have not been reduced to tears by the stories, true stories of survival and giving and dedication and hope, I have found myself convicted again and again of my need to do more... to find a cause, perhaps several causes, to which I can give my heart and time and monies, knowing I can and will make a difference. No pie-in-the-sky solutions here... simply the telling of the stories of individuals who have made and continue to make a difference in ways both big and small. Lives changed, towns given hope, communities restored; seemingly insurmountable problems faced head-on, often with few resources, and over and over again the conviction that we CAN make a dif...

t aking time A breath, deep and long Another, then one more as muscles and relax letting go of all they have           been holding Anxiety and must-do lists Rushing and stressing and    tying myself in knots    over the ways in which    I am not doing all I could    to help those in need    to work for peace    to advocate for justice    to love...accept...include A breath, deeper still Another, then one more as time's demands fall away creating space for-            clarity            peace            blessed emptiness creating space for-            the Spirit of Hope            to enter in and ...