“If you must look back, do so forgivingly. If you
must look forward, do so prayerfully. However, the wisest thing you can do is
be present in the present… Gratefully.”
- Maya Angelou
"To wait open-endedly is
an enormously radical attitude toward life. So is to trust that something will
happen to us that is far beyond our imaginings. So, too, is giving up control
over our future and letting God define our life, trusting that
God molds us according to God's love and not according to our fear.
The spiritual life is a life in which we wait, actively present to the moment,
trusting that new things will happen to us, new things that are far beyond our
own imagination, fantasy, or prediction. That, indeed, is a very radical stance
toward life in a world preoccupied with control."
-Henri
J. M. Nouwen
"God uses broken things. It takes
broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give
bread, broken bread to give strength."
– Vance Havner
welcome
morning
There is joy
in
all:
in
the hair I brush each morning,
in
the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that
I rub my body with each morning,
in
the chapel of eggs I cook
each
morning,
in
the outcry from the kettle
that
heats my coffee
each
morning,
in
the spoon and the chair
that
cry "hello there, Anne,"
each
morning,
in
the godhead of the table
that
I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each
morning.
All
this is God,
right
here in my pea-green house
each
morning
and
I mean,
though
often forget,
to
give thanks,
to
faint down by the kitchen table
in
a prayer of rejoicing
as
the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck
into their marriage of seeds.
So
while I think of it,
let
me paint a thank-you on my palm
for
this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest
it go unspoken.
The
joy that isn't shared, I've heard,
dies
young.
- anne sexton
a Southern excursion for spring break
"We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are." ~Madeleine L'Engle~
Trideltathon with Kim Possible-- April 13, 2014
still needing the helping hands of Anna and Taylor on one wheel,
but nonetheless making baby steps in learning!
"Easter trumps Lent. Lent owns its grey space, and the good news is no good news at all if we do not sincerely wrangle with the sad
facts scattered about us. But then Easter comes and flips on the sunshine and
cranks up the jukebox and opens the windows and breaks out the margaritas. … Easter is the dance
of the mourner who has grabbed the alleluia in a headlock and won’t let go." – Winn Collier
Easter 2014
"The
closest I’ve come to the astonishment of the disciples when they heard the good
news of Jesus’ resurrection occurred the Easter my son was two. Jack’s Sunday school teacher had
brought a huge bouquet of helium balloons and let each child choose one to take
home. Jack chose red. Proudly and joyfully, he carried his
bobbling balloon down the church hallway to the Fellowship Hall, where Goug and
I stopped to chat with our associate pastor, Steve, and his wife about our
recent visit to Steve’s hometown.
A few minutes into our conversation, Jack let out a piercing wail. He had let go of his balloon, and it
had floated to the top of the Fellowship Hall, some twelve feet above our
heads. “Oh
sweetie.” I picked Jack up as he began to sob. “That’s so sad.” Steve
said to Jack, “Hey, pal, don’t worry. I’ll go get a ladder. We’ll get it down.” “No,
please,” I said. “Please don’t. We believe in letting him experience the
consequence of his actions.” But
Steve had already headed across Fellowship Hall in search of a ladder. He
turned around. “It’s Easter, Kimberlee. There are no consequences.” I
stated after him, my mouth half-open to voice an objection that died on my
lips. Steve got Jack’s balloon down, and I hope and pray that deep in his
being, my son now knows something it will take me the rest of my life to
believe: The resurrection changes everything. Everything. The reality of
Easter- Christ risen, death defeated, sins forgiven, evil overcome, no
consequences—is so incredible, in the original sense of the word, that it’s
beyond believable.
……….
It’s
Easter, Kimberlee. There are no consequences. I am still pondering Steve’s words to me that Easter
morning. I expect I will ponder
them for a long time to come. What
does it mean to live in the reality of Easter, a reality in which there are no
consequences? I confess I don’t
know. My suspicion, though, is that it looks a lot different from the way I
usually live my life: a lot freer, bolder, more gracious and generous, and a
lot less afraid."
"Jesus
was the one who danced on his own grave.
With nimble feet, he rose up prancing, trampling death and sorrow
underfoot. At Easter, we are
invited to do the same. All in our
lives that is limiting, sorrowful, or dead becomes the dance floor on which we
celebrate our Easter joy."
-Wendy
Wright
Tulip Festival 2014 - La Conner, WA
“A
tulip doesn’t strive to impress anyone. It doesn’t struggle to be different
than a rose. It doesn’t have to. It is different. And there’s room in the
garden for every flower. You didn’t have to struggle to make your face
different than anyone else’s on earth. It just is. You are unique because you
were created that way. Look at little children in kindergarten. They’re all
different without trying to be. As long as they’re unselfconsciously being
themselves, they can’t help but shine. It’s only later, when children are
taught to compete, to strive to be better than others, that their natural light
becomes distorted.” -Marianne Williamson
a
few posts to share from the past month:
