one reward (of bible study)

sometimes
it all seems
random

things wending
and bending 
their way through space

but that's not truth

for there is 
a storyline obvious

a plot rife with mercy
made

clear


"The Bible is our love letter from home."  Augustine of Hippo

in the year 2020

drinking in
draughts of drama

day by day

our minds find
little time to rest

let alone
digest the news cycle

try this instead

study subtle stone
and lay of land

listen
to the clack clack

of branches


"Come forth into the light things, let nature be your teacher."
                                                           ~William Wordsworth

"In clinical studies, we have seen that 2 hours of nature sounds a day, significantly reduce stress hormones up to 800% and activates 500-600 DNA segments known to be responsible for healing
and repairing the body."   ~Dr. Joe Dispenza

simon, the pharisee

poor simon
the pharisee

sitting in judgment

"if he were a prophet
he would know what kind of woman
this is

how can he let her
touch him

let alone, wet his feet
with her tears

such an embarrassment!"

"Simon," He said
" I have something to say to you"

poor
self righteous simon

caught
in the tangle
of his own

sticky web

 ~Written after studying Luke 7:38-50

I certainly can't be too hard on Simon, however, as I too, can find myself sitting in his seat. Sad, isn't it? How we can manage to even become "Pharisee judging" Pharisees.

Pharisee:
noun

a member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity.
a self righteous person, a hypocrite

flight

she died
yesterday

the young
sweet mother
of two

flew
up and beyond

the shadowlands


"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."  Richard Bach

Thus George MacDonald writes to his daughter, whom he will soon lose to tuberculosis:

“I do live expecting great things in the life that is ripening for me and all mine-when we shall have all the universe for our own, and be good merry helpful children in the great house of our father. Then, darling, you and I and all will have the grand liberty wherewith Christ makes free-opening his hand to send us out like white doves to range the universe.” (The Heart of George MacDonald )

sighting

one day
when i was on a hill

snow geese
suddenly filled the air

with cries
and wings

and all the things

i
needed



"They have passed over us like an eraser over a blackboard, wiping away whatever was there before they came. "  ~Wallace Stegner (speaking of geese)

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."  John Muir

praying place

it's a county road
but i call it
mine

for i have been there
many times

to find
my way
again


"Wisdom sits in places."  -Apache Proverb

"After He had left the crowds, He went out to the mountains to pray." Mt. 14:23
(After I leave the crowds, i head to the backroads.)

made full

the cottonwood

is losing her leaves

it began

last week

and yesterday’s rain

hastened the change

but 

emptiness is beautiful

when arms are held

high

"When we give freely, we feel full and complete; when we withhold, we feel small, petty, impotent, and lacking.  We are meant to learn this great truth, that giving fulfills us, while withholding and trying to get causes us to feel empty and even more needy.  This truth runs counter to our programming, which drives us to try to get something from others to fulfill our neediness, only to end up even more needy, grasping, lacking, and unfulfilled."   Gina Lake