On Joy (or to the heart of all things) When I was a child, I once saw my grandmother laugh so hard that she threw her head back as she clapped her hands together. I have never been the same. Joy can smooth the furrowed eyebrows of A burdened heart so that, even with just... Continue Reading →
A Sermon: I am, You are, He and She is, They are, We are Beloved
The Feast of the Baptism, Year A. 2020 When Lisa and I moved to Georgia from Arkansas for graduate school, we didn’t know anyone. We joined Central Presbyterian Church downtown, and we began preparing for Lisa’s own baptism. I am her godfather! On the day of Lisa’s baptism, we sat down front and I... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: January 9: “I lived a word today”
I lived a word today I read a word today I had never seen before, tucked away in a Mary Oliver piece: bumptious “Adjective: self-assertive to an irritating degree” I looked it up to see how to use it properly or improperly-- however I want. I heard a word today I had... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: January 6, 2020: “I Scream with my Fingers”
I Scream with my Fingers Is it not enough to grow roses? To bow to the curve of a stem, to respect the thorn that stifles my greed, to show devotion not to a friend, no, something deeper and truer still? Brushing petals trains my hands to be gentle-- perhaps my heart can... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: January 5: “Ode to Wanda Lou”
Ode to Wanda Lou At least five times a day I lift our cat Wanda Lou and press the side of my face against her furry body and close my eyes and listen. And stop. I don’t know if she knows that her heart beats within her, but I know and am thankful... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: January 4: “The Sweetest Flame”
The Sweetest Flame Love burns away what is not it-- what is not of it-- with the sweetest flame. Life is sublime if you invite the Spirit to blow on the embers of your life. . 1/4/2020
A Year of Seeing: January 4, 2020: “The same other side”
The same other side There is a peculiar pressure in this weary world to go out and up, out to conquer and solve, up to succeed and better-- a peculiar pressure to out and up. Why, then, does my heart, the still center of my soul, feel pulled in and down? ... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: January 3: “Hot g…u…m…”
Hot g...u...m... Some days my soul feels so very s t r e t c h e d pulled thin like hot gum on the bottom... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: January 2: “The things that are sown”
The things that are sown My grandmother grew roses in the hot Arkansas sun with my eyes fixed on her walking through her garden with ranks of pine trees towering like rooted columns in our private cathedral that was censed with sweet, dripping resin with a carpet of St. Augustine pushing between my toes... Continue Reading →
A Year of Seeing: December 31: “A Bad Poem”
A Bad Poem Is it not worth it to reach out with your shaking hand-- even with the other one pressed across your eyes-- and take your pencil and make the first hesitating mark on the paper so that the questions you have long held like a frightened bird whipped in the wind can take... Continue Reading →
Thoughts on a Contemplative Reformation 