Grandfather Flame The metal doors on the black fireplace in my grandparents’ house had glass windows that glowed orange and bathed the whole room in a warm light as the sun set and I snuggled in her lap while she rocked me. He would let me add logs to the fire, showing me... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: May 7: “Roots”
Roots The winds blew strong yesterday and the shrubs, newly planted, were whipped to and fro, so this morning I replanted them and packed the dirt tighter around their roots so that perhaps now they can stand stronger. Because the winds will come again. SH 5/7/2020
A Year of Seeing: May 5: “Incarnational Resistance”
Incarnational Resistance The Word became flesh and dwells among us. Why do we so badly want to shove it back? I need to sit here for a while and not think about this. SH 5/5/2020
A Year of Seeing: May 4: “Bird Meditation”
Bird Meditation When I sit quietly and softly in my chair on the patio garden, beside the sage, when I allow my soul time to pause, to step aside from the noise and the sparkle, when I sit still and silent with my breath with closed eyes and feel the breeze blow... Continue Reading →
“A God Who Joins the Flock” A Sermon for Good Shepherd Sunday
A God Who Joins the Flock Stuart Higginbotham I have never really spent much time around sheep, so it is hard for me to really “get into” the Gospel texts about sheep and shepherding. We had plenty of livestock around us as children back in Arkansas, but no sheep. We even had one family... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: April 30: “Real Presence”
Real Presence Two small squirrels leapt off the trunk of the maple tree and ran through the grass. I could not tell if they were barking or laughing, but they meant what they were saying. I keep trying to stand still and wait for what is to be to come into view. When? ... Continue Reading →
A Pandemic Priesthood: A Reflection on Vocation in Strange Days
A Pandemic Priesthood Stuart Higginbotham This morning, forty-six days after I closed our campus and we moved our shared ministries to our homes and an online platform, we gathered for our weekly Sunday service of Morning Prayer via Zoom. (As an update, we really are getting better at logging in and aiming the camera at... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: April 21: “Normal”
Normal When are we going to go back to normal? When will things return to normal? I hear this so often and a part of me echoes this as well, but my soul, my soul, whispers about something else to yearn for, something else to set our eyes and hearts on. My soul desires... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: April 20: “Forty”
Forty Moses entered into the cloud on the top of the mountain and stayed there, in God’s presence, to see what he needed to see-- to learn how to see-- for forty days. The wisdom forged in that space guided his people through their wilderness journey, struggling and hoping, for forty years, or, as... Continue Reading →
Nine Lessons Revisited, 40 days in
I am revisiting this list of "Nine Lessons I am Learning" from about a month ago, now that we have reached the 40-day mark in my home. I am adding one lesson after these five weeks, a lesson that focuses on the dynamic of leadership. So, here are "Ten Lessons I am Learning at the... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation 