Bridge In The Fog

15 Jul
The bridge in the fog is a visual metaphor. It means…..what you think it means. I invite you to spend a few minutes absorbing the photo, letting it become the complete focus of the moment. What does it say to your mind? To your heart? Can you see it with your spirit?

Inconspicuous Beauty

9 Jul

Thank you, God, for inconspicuous beauty. For “taken for granted” encounters. For all that is common and ordinary. Remind me today that nothing is without value…and no one. I am grateful for this particular day because I am confident that at some moment I will do a double-take and say to myself: “Wow!”

Living Water

4 Jul
Water for cleansing, healing, for growing things. Water that flows gently, soothing and relaxing. Water that bubbles and bounces over rocks in the river. Then…the torrent that leaps from the mountainside and tumbles down the steep slopes. Today is July 4 and the tender planting we call home, the earth dotted with continents and nations, all manner of living things, yearns for the water of peace and stability. At one time, water covered the vast expanse of everything, life giving water that produced order out of chaos. One great water from which all things came at the word of the Universal Voice. “Let there be…” I think that voice still speaks, calling us into Light and Air, a gifting voice heard only by those who listen with the heart. Today, when you take that refreshing drink in the heat of this monsoon season, remember that Living Water is the source of your life. And, before you dash off to the next assignment or appointment or adventure, speak a word of thanks. A lot of water under the bridge since that first July 4 many, many years ago. But the water that keeps us going, physically and spiritually, as a people who value principles of ethics and justice, that Water never runs dry. Drink deeply of this life-giving source.

Colors

30 Jun
At first it looks like a wild, unprofessional arrangement. And it is. But sit with the picture for a minute and see what it says. Listen. Do you hear? The gift is in the colors and how they compliment each other. How they blend. How they reinforce each other. Today I will be more attentive to the amazing colors around me. I hope you will spend a few minutes of your day appreciating the diversity and the unity of life around you. Take in the colors. May this day be one of gratitude and appreciation.

Look Up

29 Jun
Ducks on the ground are cute and taking photos of them is fun as they waddle and splash around the pond. But unless he looks up, he won’t see the graceful beauty of the white bird floating above his head. Look up. Don’t keep your eyes on the ground. Look up and be amazed. Yes, it’s a metaphor. At least one a day is good for you!

Creative Clouds

27 Jun
Few things are more beautiful than clouds during the Monsoon season in the Sonoran Desert. What a wonderful reminder of creation’s gentleness and power in the same blink of an eye. Thank you, Creative Genius, for displaying your breath of Grace.

The First Signs of Morning

21 Jun

Mr. Hummingbird and I have something in common. We’re both waiting for the dawn. We’re watching for the morning’s arrival. Waiting. Watching. Being still. Listening to the silence. Looking here and there for signs of darkness retreating. It’s almost like putting yourself into a contemplative moment, settling in for an experience of The Holy. What if we treat this day as the bearer of the Sacred, the means by which The Mystery lives within all the good creation? Makes the dawn extra special, doesn’t it. So, pull your chair over to the window and watch. Something remarkable is about to happen. The gift of today is arriving and it bears a presence and a promise: with you always. I think it’s getting lighter outside.

Glowing Trees

19 Jun
They’re not very pretty. That is, some limbs are missing, their
shape is not attractive, rather scrawny. But.
When I saw them I thought of a burning bush story and I
looked at all the surrounding bushes and they weren’t
glowing and I thought to myself: See what light can do!
Light, the light of the morning, is life-giving, an
energy source that, like an electrical current,
powers up the average and turns average into astonishing.
“I am the light,” he said once. I am the source.
Walk in that Light and you’ll glow today.

Do You Happen To Have A Brown Paper Sack?

16 Jun

Dear Reader: This poem has very little spiritual value and it probably won’t expand your theological horizons. But it was fun.

Tie my hands behind my back!
Do you happen to have an old paper sack
I could use to stuff in my mouth?

I stepped on the scales at 4 o’clock,
by 6 I wasn’t beyond the shock
from those nasty numbers that laugh at me.

I remember the days of S, M, and L
but now I live in the virtual hell
of life at the corner of Chubby and Fat.

If I continue to stuff my face,
I calculate that at this pace
I’ll be the Eclipse of ’23.

Will no one have pity on this poor man?
How much more do you think I can
extend this belt and stretch these pants?

Do they sell Quad-Xs at the local store?
I simply can’t take very much more.
One more muffin, or two, and I’m through.

Well, it’s been two months and look at me!
Can you believe what you think you see?
CNN should cover this stunning news.

From two twenty-one to one eighty-six.
No deceptions, no schemes, no infamous tricks.
Do you remember that brown paper sack?
It works!

I’m Not Worthy!

3 Jun

Holiness is not the way to Christ; Christ is the way to holiness.

C.H. Spurgeon

I’ve got to look better, act better, do better, sound better…I’ve got to be better before I can become friends with God. And if I try harder, pray more, study twice as much as I do now, then I will be qualified to follow Christ. I need to be holy in order to associate with the Holy.

I feel for the person who thinks this way. The fact of the matter is, he’s exactly wrong. Holiness is not a requirement for friendship with God or for participation in God’s church, the Body of Christ. Holiness is the outcome of surrender and commitment. Remember the line in that old hymn: Just as I am without one plea…O Lamb of God, I come.

I wonder how many people miss the richness of life in Christ because they are convinced they can’t make the cut? Not good enough. Not worthy. All the while, it’s not a question of worthiness. It’s the realization that I can’t do it all myself and the courage to take the chance. Holiness is the gift, and Christ is the giver.

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