“Yesterday was Earth Day, centered within what some of us call “Earth Week.” I am lucky to be on retreat right now, listening to bird song and woodpecker drumming and wind. Gratitude for this moment and the greening trees draws my heart closer to God to see wonders in the smallest budding leaf.”
Children sow the sidewalk with painted rocks wearing hearts and flowers, as though faith could irrigate the earth with hope. I sow my windowsill with
“It’s been awhile since I marveled at small, blue eggs, and watched a robin search for worms and return to three pecking beaks open wide for food.
Thank you, God, for the gift of new life.”
“Let us learn to embrace those words we chose to throw away. Suffering. Sin. The Evil One. And at the same time let us learn to embrace those prettified words for their true meanings, their hard and real meanings. Faith. Obedience. Love. Healed. Because without walking through the shadow of death, can there be the support, love, and gifts of our Shepherd?”
“Instead I have to listen with the ears of my heart. My belief comes straight out of that part of me in which Christ dwells already, and has dwelt since before the beginning of time. It comes from my heart, the true center of my person, the seat of my Soul. My Soul knows.”
“Sometimes I think it would be good if we had a pillar of cloud by day and one of fire by night so that we could be sure of the direction God wants us to go. It would be easier than trying to figure it out by trial and error. Sure, the Bible guides us, and we have the opportunity for meditation and prayer, which can enable us to listen for God’s direction; however, individual interpretation and discernment can often take people in different directions even when using the same scriptures and requests.”
“Blessed are you, O God of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we receive the legacy of a living hope, born again not only from his death but also from his resurrection.”
“And that reminds us of our calling. We who are disciples— lay and ordained, doubting as we all are at one time or another—are tasked with carrying that witness out into the world. In last week’s passage from John 20, that was made explicit when Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon them, which for us recalls our baptism. We are called to witness to when we have encountered the risen Christ in our midst, or in our hearts.”
“We’ve giggled at technological hiccups, theirs and ours, with Paul and I agreeing we’re going to get so much better at this, after the first week’s battle finding the port for the HDMI cable cost us the opening hymn. When St. Christopher’s live stream locked up, we caught the end of Trinity’s service, then clicked over to YouTube for our own Fr. Tom at St. Paul’s, in Prosper.”
“We have a beautiful story to tell, a powerful one that is meant for the world. And this year so many people heard that good news from their homes on computers, radios, and TVs. I wish I could tell all the pastors I know that the work they do and are doing matters. Thanks seems too small a word, but it’s what we have.”