Dazzle

that God came to earth
in human form (God with us)
takes my breath away

(photo of the eclipse taken earlier this year)

Above

I.

The full moon above

Reflects the light of the sun,

Shines in the night sky.

II.
You are above all.
You are the sun, I the moon,
Reflecting your love.

(Photo: Taken through the dining room window of our cruise ship after leaving port in Ketchikan, AK on August 17, 2016)

Journey

Each minute unknown,

Nothing certain lies ahead,

Except your presence.

Lead and support me.

Give me courage for life's trip.

You are my North Star.

(Photo: En route to Dawes Glacier, Alaska; August 18, 2016)

Love

I.

Oh sweet blessed gift

Filling me, spilling over
Like a waterfall.

II
Who are we to love?
Our neighbor, Jesus tells us, 
Even those we fear.

III.
Love brings down walls
And builds bridges between us,
Make us neighbors.

IV
All love involves risk.
Jesus knew that, on the cross,
Love poured out for all.

V
Oh sweet blessed Gift
Filling us, spilling over
Like a waterfall.

(Photo: Philadelphia Flower Show, March 2017)

Live

I lift off the ground.

Abandoning everything 
That has restrained me.

To trust and let go,
To fly on the breath of God,
Is scary, thrilling.

I ride on the Wind
Not knowing where it takes me,
Feeling so alive.

(photo: St. Pete Beach FL, February 2017)

Preserve

Hold us close to you

Like a mother and child.

Protect and shield us.

(photo of my grandmother and my father, 1934)

Forgiveness

Winter into spring

New life crawling out of death

This is forgiveness

(Photo: Media, PA March 7, 2017)

Wise

In the mindfulness,

Listening, seeing, learning,

There Wisdom resides.

And when we admit

We don't have all the answers,

Wisdom is there, too.

Be wise everyone:

Trust the grace-giving God

Who knows more than we.

(Photo: En route to Dawes Glacier, AK on August 18 2016)

Celebrate 1

"Let us all rejoice!

This is the day the Lord made.

Let's be glad in it!"

We are flawed people

So dance the devil away.

Evil will not win.

Sing! Hope! Be joyful!

And dance in the light of God.

Celebrate God's love.

"Let us all rejoice:

This is the day the Lord made.

Let's be glad in it."

(photo: Allentown, PA January 2017)

Treasure

The things that I treasure

Are not money and power.

In the end, they fade.

But give me beauty

In the love of another,

Laughter, art, and faith.

(photo: North Rim, Grand Canyon, September 2011)

Sacrifice

Difficult, for sure,

To die so new growth comes forth

But, it is worth it.

Sacrifice means that

Life is not all about me

Rather, about us.

(photo: Tyler Aboretum, winter 2016)

Injustice

Insidiously

The barbed wire wraps around us,

Leaving scarred tissue.

Injustice is this. 

All feel the stabbing cold steel

Drawing blood and pain.

No one is exempt, 

Including perpetrators.

This sin wounds us all.

(Photo: Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France, May 2016)

Heal

Under the band-aid

Cells are regenerating

Making my wound whole.

Into our sick world

God comes with greening power

Bringing sweet, new life.