An orange moon appears, it’s light having to pass through more pollution and smoke than usual
just to get my attention
And what is the message sister moon has worked hard this night to deliver? Is her’s a stark warning
or a harbinger of positive things to come?
While mirroring the positivity and life-giving rays of the sun, might her orange also reflect impatience with my slow and shaky reply to Mother Earth’s cry?
Led by Wisdom’s brilliant call
I embark on the journey of letting go
searching for whom I give my all
Gifted with new stationary at Christmas
I look forward to writing more letters this year
birthing expressions of love and encouragement
It takes work
to wait
for what we long for most
It takes practice
to prepare
the way of the Lord
Take heart
in your waiting
God is at work!
Join a faith community this Advent
and plan to attend a
candle light service on Christmas Eve
In this season of Thanksgiving
with a hint of peace restored
in war-torn regions of the Middle East
I am thankful for peace that passes all understanding,
ours to enjoy no matter what, and ours to offer others
no matter who or what in this world they stand for
“Oh Lord, may you ordain peace for us, for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.”
Isaiah 26:22
“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”
2 Corinthians 13:11
So, the Great Physician calls
not with loud hollers of threat and condemnation
but with a still, quiet voice, gently calling me
by name, assuring me, I am loved
Guiding me daily in rhythm with the heart of life,
sending me out again today
with good news that does wonders
for anyone willing to listen.
From poem “Good Heart Tones” in Called to be Alive!
At this time and at my age
any sense of balance
is a taste of victory!
Healing from heart surgery
at home this week,
I find this to be most certainly true!
And from where do I believe my balance comes?
Surely from the Maker who guides all
toward stability and well-being
Class of 69, called to be alive! 😊🎶
Getting ready to head back to Dubuque, Iowa where Carol and I will gather with classmates and significant others for our Class of 69’s 55th high school reunion. Yes indeed! It’s time to reunite! Our reunion band is getting ready to play and sing some favorites when we gather with other classmates at Eagle Point Park Friday night, Sept 27th.
Led by the Spirit
For Life’s utmost
Anchored in a faith group
for life on the coast
Window at Clatsop Plains Pioneer Presbyterian Church, Warrenton, Oregon.
Designed and created by Andrea Mullins Weir
O God, you have called your pilgrim people
to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,
by paths as yet untrodden. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The prayer above is one of my favorites. It’s been around for decades and is attributed to an Anglican minister Eric Milner-White. Sometimes called the Prayer of Good Courage, it expresses the attitude of one desiring to live and be of service to the Lord wherever life leads.
This prayer became especially near and dear to me when after Denise, my first wife, died suddenly, I chose to venture from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest, ready to live into a new chapter of God’s call on my life. To my surprise, the unfolding of this new stage of life and service would include journeying to the end of the Oregon Trail, serving at Pioneer Presbyterian Church on the Clatsop Plains.
So, in many ways I’ve been on a pilgrimage for the past decade or more. Day by day, full of grace, the Lord leading me, God’s love supporting me and I amazed time and again at how I am blessed to be a blessing along the way.
Be it a new phase in life, a journey to a far-off sacred place, or simply taking an afternoon or a weekend away, spiritual growth and life-giving discernment await those who are willing to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage.
