God's Street Light

There's something pretty amazing about a full moon.

Its like God left the street light on all night.

Beams bouncing off the snow covered ground

Shadows paint the floor through the windows

Absolutely delightful

A beam lights the way down the hall

Crisp frozen snow sparkles with the patterns of limbs

The sky the earth become one

Light and dark merge and take their places in the grand scheme

The moon sets to the west

Night sky transitions to dawn

With the temperature hovering around 0

All is still except the lighting of the sky ...

Ever so slightly

Ever so gently

Morning has broken

And in it .... the still small voice of God

Shhhh ... listen

To the words of love of promise of hope.

Be still and know that I am with you.

some times words are inadequate

My Red Chair

Am not sure what the feeling for the day is ...
Ever had a long day?
And just want to sit back and wish it all away?
My red chair is in the basement
Maybe it should come back upstairs?
Be in my office?

Ahhh

But when the red chair isn't there
I can just remember
Recall the "kodak" moment

I wished it all away ...
I can't help but smile ...

Ahhhh

I wished
It didn't go away
But the energy is renewed to move forward

Do you have a "red chair and a hat?"

Amazing

7AM
"The sun awaits its rising as the earth yearns for warming
And the reminder of a new day lived in
Grace and
Hope."
JSM

7:30 AM

as morning broke on the eastern horizon

A layered cake outside my window

through the screen of limbs and wires

subtle hues of pink blue white orange

layered one on top of the other

A quick grab of the camera doesn't do it justice

But the amazement of glory we felt deep inside my core

Such a gift to see it

Such a gift to feel it

Such a blessing to be alive.

Go in peace today ...

Crisp

CRISP

Cookies

The morning air

Fresh

Firm but easily broken

Carrots

Chips

Clean

Alert

Awake

The word of the day ... CRISP ....

A walk in the morning when it is crisp and clear. as the view are clean and not clouded by particles of smog. At dusk as I emerged from a day in the the office I commented about the wonderful crisp evening it was ... perfect for a photo ...

Learnings

Ahhh ...

Learning

A simple yet complicated and critical process

Learning

Ribbon

Colors

Curls

Soft

Crunchy

What did you learn today?

Temptation

Sometimes it seems so close .... you can almost taste it!

That was Teddy's experience last Saturday when I was baking cookies.

Those chips ... folded in with oatmeal, butter, flour .... well you know the rest.

What tempts you?

Be Alert

Be alert for signs of God ... the trinity.

As you walk .. as you read .. as you live

Sparkled throughout our journey you can find God

Ever present

A shadow

A smile

A tear

A hug

In our brokenness

In our gifts

In our hearts

In our lives.

Look ... the tree ... the shadow ... the trinity ... the sun burst.

Be alert ... be open ...

God is here ...

I don't know why

I really don't understand much of the world and why things happen.

Earthquakes ... plates adjusting deep under the surface. One source even said that these plates are always moving ... at about the same speed that our fingernails grow. This week: 7.0 in Haiti. Thousands have died and more will die in the days ahead.

Community. A few nights ago, three families sat around a table enjoyed a full meal, laughter, prayer, conversation, candles.

Violence. Last month a university professor was arrested for strangling his wife. He called 911. No previous history of domestic violence. She a gifted a photographer. They sang together in choir had many friends. No one knows what happens. One dies.

Beauty. The sun sets off Waikiki and hundreds stand along the beach hoping to capture that moment in their hearts and on their cameras.

Hate. An airplane crashes into the World Trade Tower, followed by a second, followed by a crash in a field in Pennsylvania. Thousands die.

Life. A couple discover they are expecting a baby. The long expected and desired child.

Death. A woman walking along a country road she walked daily is hit by a car and killed instantly.

The Unexpected. After a long cold winter, iris' bloom in the mountain village. Across the country a transplanted iris blooms in the spring then surprises its own with a second bloom in the fall.

I don't know why these things happen.

Yet I do know that God does love us.

God is eternal, infinite ...

I am simple, limited

I am a broken pot.

I don't know why

Yet I do know and believe in God.

No, Pat, God did not do this to Haiti

There is beauty before during and after the storm.

I don't know why and I can live with that

What I do know:

I have been called by name, I am God's

When I pass through the waters, I am not alone

How do you define spirituality?

Stirrings

Portal

Intentional

Ritual

Individually

Touchstones

Unwrapping

Anew

Living

I am yours

Tangible

Yearning

The Secret Garden

The garden is there

Right off Mt. Hope

It really isn't a secret

But it calls to folks

Where is the garden

Why is it hidden

But my garden

My garden is within

The garden is mine

I just need to enter

It is within

12th Day of Christmas

Today the season ends.

The 12th day of Christmas.

The kings have found their way to the baby.

Let us go forth and let the light shine in our daily walk.

Lighting the Way

Charlotte Lighthouse, Rochester, NY

What lights your way?