If it exists then it is good —for God beheld all that he madeand said that it was very good. And nothing is unless he saysthe word that puts it on display.He said that it was very good. And it would still displaythe “good” at rest within its rootsso long as it obeyed.
A snow covers the walk on which I tread,my feet grow numb to rise and fall beneaththis wet and seeping cold in which I’m lead,to take another step up to my bed. There I will rest and surely feel your heat —but not today. These clouds remain for nowand I will move and move until […]
Why did he let me go awaybeyond the sea and failing skyto places cold and deep to stayand wait upon his graceful eye? You let me go and then refusedto let me get away from you.You let me run and watched, amused —as if you knew…as if you knew the sea and distant country too.This […]
and now we fall into this grasp of cold – of white and black, and never ending night.It’s here again, but so am I. So boldto face the winter’s snow, to win the fight. Ever since I moved to the northwest I have dealt with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). I grew up in a much warmer […]
Music can be sanctifying. It can be a tool of the Holy Spirit to form the image of Christ in us. Music is a means of grace. Last year I began a tradition of forming a short playlist as a way of reflecting on the year. What have I learned? Where have I seen God? […]
“You visit the earth and water it,You greatly enrich it;the river of God is full of water;you provide the people with grain,for so you have prepared it…You crown the year with your bounty;Your wagon tracks overflow with richness.”Psalm 65:9, 11 NRSV The red, yellow, and brown cover the groundand turn to grey and slick and […]
Every pastor has had the experience of preaching a sermon only to notice that one or more congregants have fallen asleep. Perhaps they are just resting their eyes, we try to tell ourselves. They are prayerfully blocking out distractions so that they can hang on every word. Then their chin droops down to their chest […]
“Let nothing disturb you,Let nothing frighten you,All things are passing away.God never changes.Patience obtains all thingsWhoever has God lacks nothing:God alone suffices.”St. Teresa of Avila Ugliness aboundsBut “Beauty will save the world.”*Resurrect my hope. The earth shifts beneathBut “Let nothing disturb you.”Resurrect my hope. There is much to fearBut “Let nothing frighten you.”Resurrect my hope. […]
The promises of God are often sold –Forsaken for a bowl of lentil stewOr for a flag of red and white and blue.But there it sits, with time collecting mold. “If hope be hope it must continue to burn after it has put out every false hope.”Karl Barth One of the biggest mistakes Christians in […]
“So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” – Psalm 90:12, NRSV The Latin phrase memento mori means: remember, you will die. In medieval times, the saints would use this phrase as a critique against the vanities of the culture. When we remember our mortality we begin to realize […]
The Local Pastor 