Seeking to be CONTENT in all things, JOYFUL in HOPE, PATIENT in affliction.
Part of Nehemiah's wall in Jerusalem Many things have fallen apart during this strange time of COVID-19. For some, it is a sense of well-being and safety. For others, it is mental health. Long months of isolation have worn down our defenses against anxiety and depression. We are feeling increasingly hopeless.Some people have seen their …
Continue reading One Brick at a Time: Rebuilding and Renewal
It is easy to tear down idols in society; it's a whole other thing to root them out of our own hearts.
Hugs are an essential service.
All too often, we believe peace is impossible in our community, in our homes and our marriages. Impossible in the light of scary test results and uncertain futures. Our default setting is defeat.
We meet over a shared meal. Breaking bread in a way that is both sacred and ordinary. It is a holy time set aside each month to gather around a friend's table. We never coordinate what to bring for the meal. Yet, miraculously, it always works. Sometimes, it is all salads and bread. Someone might …
Continue reading Around the Table: The Sacred and the Ordinary
This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.Psalm 118:24 It felt like Saturday. That is, it felt the way Saturday used to feel when it was a separate day. It was perfectly sunny and 76 degrees. We planted tomatoes, and I traded extra seedlings with neighbors for a portion of yeast and a face mask. Yeast does not seem to exist in any local grocery. Our neighbors stood on …
"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"Psalm 46:10 The Earth is at peace. The hum of human activity quieted. Even Earth's upper crust is moving just a little less as everything pauses in the pandemic. Photos of empty streets around …
It began as someone else's idea posted on a Facebook page called Project Quarantine 2020. This is a page dedicated to fostering joy and community connection during this season of shelter in place. The post was called "Start a Bear Hunt" fashioned after the book We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and Helen …
A pandemic can suspend our plans but it can't cancel Spring!
The drumbeat of fear over coronavirus is hard to avoid. Is it starting to get to you? Although I am not generally an alarmist, I have to admit it is starting to freak me out. You can't buy rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer anywhere. For goodness sake, people are hoarding toilet paper, batteries, and water. …
