Is Christmas Really the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

What makes Christmas Eve beautiful and wonder-filled? Perhaps it’s large, soft snow flakes gently brushing faces and whitening eyebrows while twinkling tree lights interrupt the darkness and church carillons chime Silent Night. Maybe it’s Andy Williams singing Christmas is “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” where “ those holiday greetings and gay happy meetingsContinue reading “Is Christmas Really the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?”

Thankful and Content?

Watching this humming bird at its feeder while I porch-sat with an early morning cup of coffee was both entertaining and enlightening. Undoubtedly this tiny but magnificent creature was acting instinctively as it drove away other hungry “hummers.” It showed no signs of grace or generosity while ferociously guarding a feeder filled with enough foodContinue reading “Thankful and Content?”

A Different Kind of Poverty

Whether by neglect or for lack of financial resources, this structure is in need of attention. Its condition is not hopeless but needs someone to restore it. Likewise, when our emotional or spiritual needs are unmet, a state of poverty exists, and restoration is needed. Jesus addressed spiritual poverty and its solution in his SermonContinue reading “A Different Kind of Poverty”

Peace at All Cost

Remember the Peaceniks, a term coined in the early 60’s for pacifists who by reasons of conscience actively opposed military interventions or war? Unfortunately, after centuries of philosophical, religious, and political convictions and protestations about the evils of war, achieving peace still requires courageous action and sacrifice. It will always be costly, tentative, and oftenContinue reading “Peace at All Cost”

Is Easter over?

Spring in Maine is a season of renewal and optimism. From the bleak cold, dark, colorless winter, the earth miraculously redresses itself in green and promises rich colors in brilliant hues. Spring’s renewal is derived from the roots and seeds of a prior season and is filled with expectations of familiar fragrances, colors, blossoms, fruit,Continue reading “Is Easter over?”

the wings of healing…

“The day is coming!” That pronouncement draws our attention! Predictions intrigue and sometimes unsettle us whether they are speculations about the stock market, actuarial tables, prognostications associated with diseases, habits and medical treatments, or discussions about political outcomes, Some of us even resort to tarot cards and fortune tellers to garner what might be comingContinue reading “the wings of healing…”

Reflecting

Morning Reflections, Sorrento, Maine Joining nature’s music and rhythms can be soul releasing. Being drawn into flowing streams and rippling brooks, lulled by water gently lapping the lake shore, mesmerized by crashing surf, soothed with soft breezes whispering through pines, or touched by the hermit thrush’s evening song may become profoundly refreshing experiences during whichContinue reading “Reflecting”

Coexistence in a Swampy World

Coexistence Although definitely not a Maine photo this one is shared because it generated some shareable thoughts. This swampy microcosm was spotted on a South Carolinian plantation while we were visiting family. Drawn to the smug almost gleeful countenance of the alligator and the naive inquisitiveness of the turtles, I immediately thought of Lewis Carroll’sContinue reading “Coexistence in a Swampy World”

The Wait…

There are moments and even seasons when we have no choice but to “wait it out.” Sometimes, we are powerless over our challenges. Solutions elude us, and we become overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed especially if the situation or change is irrevocable. Scripture speaks of waiting and then waiting some more for the Lord’s intervention inContinue reading “The Wait…”

Safely Anchored?

Precariously perched on a piece of seaweed tenuously attached to a lobster buoy, this little sandpiper seemed a bit disconcerted as its world swirled madly around it. We know what it is like to be overwhelmed, to lose the meaningful context of our lives, to become disoriented by chaotic ideas and events rushing in uponContinue reading “Safely Anchored?”