More Precious than Gold?

In 1923 Robert Frost wrote the  short poem “Nothing Gold can Stay”. Nature’s first green is gold,Her hardest hue to hold.Her early leaf’s a flower;But only so an hour.Then leaf subsides to leaf.So Eden sank to grief,So dawn goes down to day.Nothing gold can stay. The poem beautifully but sadly states the ancient lament thatContinue reading “More Precious than Gold?”

A Question of Legacy

In a recent article titled “Your Legacy”, Richard Simmons III asked the question , “What do you want to be remembered for?” He said that “Once your earthly life is over, your reputation will become your legacy.” Then he quoted from author David Brooks book The Road to Character in which the author differentiates betweenContinue reading “A Question of Legacy”

Creation Knows!

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you.Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? InContinue reading “Creation Knows!”

The Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earthFor the beauty of the skiesFor the love which from our birthOver and around us lies, Lord of all, to thee we raiseThis our joyful hymn of praise For the beauty of each hourOf the day and of the nightHill and vale and tree and flowerSun and moon and starsContinue reading “The Beauty of the Earth”

Whose Pleasure?

Hidden behind these beautiful mountains ranges, expansive heavens, flowing rivers, color filled, forested valleys, and rolling hills lie ages of unraveled mysteries which challenge us to consider the unique design of our planet and how this vast universe transcends understanding while hinting that it is the place where we have always belonged. Scripture’s statements aboutContinue reading “Whose Pleasure?”

It’s Going to be a Bright Sun Shiny Day…

Just as pockets of morning mist and heavy fog frequently limit vision and blur coastal Maine, a need for corrective lenses or cataract surgery may alter or distort our perception of the world we inhabit. That may have been one reason that Christ’s disciples did not always recognize him despite the fact that they hadContinue reading “It’s Going to be a Bright Sun Shiny Day…”

Blowing in the Wind…

In a series of frustrated, rhetorical queries, Bob Dylan’s 1960’s “protest “song, “Blowing in the Wind,”  identifies both personal and national moral conundrums. He poses stirring questions about how many roads or years we must take or live before we comprehend our common humanity. He laments our inability to listen to and to show compassionContinue reading “Blowing in the Wind…”

The Potter

Kneading and shaping and reshaping the clay on his potter’s wheel, the potter transforms earth into something distinct and unique, useful, beautiful, and desirable. In a small way, His creative acts mirror God’s. The prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah make that analogy. God, who not only gave beauty to creation and made us from the dustContinue reading “The Potter”

“The Times, They are A-changing “

Fall’s eye-catching changes are striking in Maine. Spring’s greening and summer’s flowering end with a dramatic flair of color. Apple orchards and blueberry fields turn red. Skies become bright blue and cloudless. Nearly overnight, orange, red and yellow leaves pepper and paint roadside vistas until they drop and leave the forests naked. Although anticipated andContinue reading ““The Times, They are A-changing “”

Birches

Robert Frost’s “Birches” has been a long time favorite of mine, probably because it conjures up some special childhood memories of swinging on birches. “So was I once myself a swinger of birches/ And so I dream of going back to be”   But it is more than nostalgic verse. At one point Frost states,  “ ButContinue reading “Birches”