2017-07-17 05:29
Isaiah 55 10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower, and bread to the eater… Read More
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desert spirit's fire! is about sacraments, creation, theology and ecology.
2017-07-14 19:04
Five Minute Friday host Kate Motaung wonders where we find comfort. My default but more formal answers would include kittehs, music of many varieties and genres, snuggly quilts (and comforte… Read More
2017-07-13 06:04
It's high summer in the northern hemisphere—the magical season when we live more casually and openly than in the cooler months. Inspired by her kids' and her own recent experiences of… Read More
2017-07-08 05:38
As summer in the northern hemisphere continues, Five Minute Friday host Kate Motaung prompts us to play. I've made this only somewhat of a FMF; because I love the topic of play, I wanted to… Read More
2017-07-05 16:23
From this site's commonplace book page; I wrote this poem during summer 2000 and won't tell you which Main Street from which of my former lives this is.cloudbreak! • 04 November 2004tri… Read More
2017-07-01 05:46
Time for another Five Minute Friday—whazzup this week? Host Kate Motaung counsels us Count Your Blessings. Her button image for the prompt simply says blessing, so that's another optio… Read More
2017-06-29 03:37
• This final Porch Stories for June 2017 can be any recent or not narrative testimony from my life, but as usual I'll take a hint from Porch Stories host Kristin Hill Taylor and feature… Read More
2017-06-22 05:09
Today's the first day of astronomical summer in the northern hemisphere; today Kristin writes about Real-life {summer} summer confessions, and I'll pick up on her seasonal topic of summer. "… Read More
2017-06-20 02:41
Kristin recently blogged seven things she's learned living in the country – on 33 acres! – with her family. This is an ideal time for me to pick up that concept because for… Read More
2017-06-16 03:09
For this week's Five Minute Friday free write – worth – Kate suggests the subtopic, "Is the Christian writing life really worth it?"• Sagittarius •Five Minutes' Worth… Read More
2017-06-15 01:38
A couple years ago I savored Barbara Mahany's journal of seasonal nature and spirituality, Slowing Time: Seeing the Sacred Outside Your Kitchen Door. Motherprayer: Lessons in Loving is anoth… Read More
2017-06-14 19:32
For her Porch Stories this week, Kristin considers Navigating Faith with Kids and features Susan Shipes' coloring book devotional, 52 Commands of Jesus for Children. I'll range further and b… Read More
2017-06-08 08:00
how wide does an ocean range?how far has the Pacific been?how long its water lived?how long will they thrive?headwaters in a skinny streamventure down canyon walls across valley floorsinto b… Read More
2017-06-08 04:42
I hope you'll read Kristin's short God-Sized Dreams Porch Stories as she details more surprises connected with their family. "God-Sized Dreams" is a challenging theological idea to blog (to… Read More
2017-06-02 20:42
Last week I didn't play the last ever Five Minute Friday on Kate Motaung's Heading Home, but what better way to begin FMF on the new site dedicated exclusively to FMF than with the one word… Read More
2017-06-01 04:11
• I got the May header background image from Pixels & Design's Mint & Gold Styled Stock Collection on Creative Market. Check out their weekly design asset freebies!• Meteor… Read More
2017-05-27 04:33
Kristin's Porch Stories for two days ago Wednesday offers an optimistic How to Find Community. As she pointed out, Women need friendship like a flower needs water. ... Loneliness is a diseas… Read More
2017-05-18 04:55
Kristin lives in the bluegrass state of Kentucky, where kids and teachers are out of school until fall. That means it's time to say, "Hello Summer Break!" Just as she did for 2016, Kristin h… Read More
2017-05-10 18:47
May is Foster Care Month; Kristin Hill Taylor, who's passionate about fostering, adopting, and every other way to care for kids, offers us Six Ways to Help Foster Families. At the end of my… Read More
2017-05-08 21:08
Holding Up Your Corner: Talking about Race in Your Community by F. Willis Johnson on Amazon. Pastor Johnson currently leads Wellspring United Methodist Church in Ferguson, MIssouri, and serv… Read More
2017-05-06 04:31
Here's an approximation of my talk this morning to open our Judicatory Green Faith Team meeting; I paraphrased the Ezekiel text rather than reading it, though I've included actuals here.Sinc… Read More
2017-05-05 04:54
You can find and participate in the weekly Five Minute Friday linkup at Kate Motaung's place in cyberspace. Word of today is that terrible should!!!What's so terrible about should? For three… Read More
2017-05-04 03:35
In her Porch Story testimony to God's faithfulness, Kristin reminds us that in Jesus Christ our Hardened Ways are Pardoned, and tells us: "when we got to our church later that morning, we sa… Read More
2017-05-03 21:16
• Immigration Sanctuary Workshop on Saturday 08 April sponsored by judicatory. As you can see, kids in the on-campus day school celebrated Vincent Van Gogh's birthday!• Milkweed in… Read More
2017-05-01 21:22
Home to Paradise: The Coming Home Series—Book 3 by Barbara Cameron on AmazonI've enjoyed Barbara Cameron's Coming Home Series especially for the beautifully crafted narratives and for… Read More
2017-04-29 02:56
Earlier this month Five Minute Friday featured the word enough; this time we get to write about more—Kate Motaung hosts again.Meteorological ConsiderationsLocal weather talk may look t… Read More
2017-04-27 03:07
Time for another Wednesday Porch Stories linkup hosted by Kristin Hill Taylor; time for Tales as Old as Time. As she reflects on several cinematic updates and remakes, Kristin admits, "I did… Read More
2017-04-22 16:09
2017-04-22 03:53
Kate Motaung's our FMF again this time; as days in the northern hemisphere get longer, what better FMF prompt could we have than sing? As days in the southern hemisphere grow shorter, "sing"… Read More
2017-04-20 01:11
In her Porch Stories testimony this week, Kristin tells us more about her son's recent medical emergency, framing it into the overall topic Remembering Beyond a Single Moment. Kristin sugges… Read More
2017-04-18 01:31
Maundy Thursday evening with the neighboring UCCGood Friday evening Bidding Prayers and TenebraeDecorating on Holy Saturday for Easter SundayEaster Day was amazing and Hallelujah Chorus! Read More
2017-04-14 19:25
Today the church commemorates the bleak Friday we call Good; Kate Motaung hosts our weekly linkup and suggests the prompt empty."How the city doth sit empty that once was full of people" poe… Read More
2017-04-13 16:21
Kristin describes her site as Seeking God as the Author of Every Story. For this week's Porch Stories she reminds us Our Shared Stories Matter.What's my take on Our Shared Stories Matter? Ge… Read More
2017-04-07 06:36
With historical, emotional, and other implications, our host Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday prompt is—enough!The title of the song "Dayenu" that's part of the Passover Haggadah &nda&hell…Read More
2017-04-01 00:43
• When San Fernando Rey de España viewed the amazingly appealing expanse of the future valley named after him.... no, not really! He never got to see it during his earthly lifeti… Read More
2017-03-30 01:54
For today's Porch Stories, Kristin Hill Taylor's about Serving Where You Are Sent (Where You Find Yourself, etc.).I hardly can count the times of consternation I've had when people have clai… Read More
2017-03-24 19:00
Kate Motaung hosts another Five Minute Friday at her online home that's a place of embrace for all! FMF is kind of a free write flash mob...Here's a hug!But as someone who loves to be (physi… Read More
2017-03-22 14:39
Last week Kristin Hill Taylor's weekly Wednesday linkup changed from Three Word Wednesday into Porch Stories; today Kristin writes about Putting my Prayers in a Box. When Kristin told me tod… Read More
2017-03-22 08:00
2017-03-17 19:19
Kate Motaung continues to host Five Minute Friday, and who wouldn't love today's single-word prompt—friend!"take 5"—minutes.I've been adding my own illustrations to most week's F… Read More
2017-03-15 20:32
Kristin Hill Taylor's weekly Wednesday linkup has changed from Three Word Wednesday into Porch Stories! Today she wisely writes about God's call to Initiate Peace. Kristin's inspiration?Lisa… Read More
2017-03-10 04:54
For Five MInute Friday, Kate's given us abandon. Part of FMF fun is the wildly different directions people take with a single word. When I've mastered the notes and the technique of a Beetho… Read More
2017-03-08 18:30
When I riffed for a few on purpose as recently as the last Five Minute Friday, I quoted a famous to everyone reminder from the book of Ecclesiastes there's a suitable season along with some… Read More
2017-03-03 06:21
For this weeks' Five Minute Friday Kate Motaung hosts a linkup collection of writing about purpose.We may get quite a few people affirming their love of God and confident about their call "a… Read More
2017-03-03 00:47
First Three Word Wednesday of this new month March; first Three Word Wednesday of this new liturgical season of Lent—how apt is Kristin's Here I Am prompt? Kristin references a song th… Read More
2017-03-01 20:19
Today, 01 March, is the first day of meteorological spring; it's Ash Wednesday, too, the first day of Lent. Did you know lent means "spring" and derives from the longer days? These days Emil… Read More
2017-03-01 20:05
from Studio to Sanctuary to Street• Very early February, and the school that shares a campus with judicatory offices and church featured Lunar New Year window decorations. I haven't pre… Read More
2017-02-26 05:40
Engaging Worship and CultureFrom last Sunday evening through Tuesday noon, I attended a worship conference sponsored by the ELCA's headquarters in Chicago. We met in beautiful bucolic beachs… Read More
2017-02-24 19:34
Five Minute Friday! Linkup's live all week long actually... though most peeps play in the window between Thursday and Friday evenings. This time Kate hosts us into writing about slow.Many of… Read More
2017-02-23 03:55
Kristin Hill Taylor tells us We Are Friends—and today is Three Word Wednesday. In the gospel narrative according to John, Jesus calls us Friends... do you ever sing "My Song Is Love Un… Read More
2017-02-18 01:04
For this week's Five Minute Friday prompt, our host Kate Motaung chose weak. FMF is an unedited free write, typically on the suggested topic. If you've never tried FMF, please consider joini… Read More
2017-02-15 22:34
Kristin Hill Taylor introduced today's topic with, "Sometimes I sit down with a friend and have multiple things to tell her … and none of them are related. We may have to catch up, ta… Read More
2017-02-10 05:55
This year S(hirley)A(nne)M(organ) Reul who blogs at On the Flip Side bestowed my star word.from Peace in Our TimeWe're never gonna break down wallsAnd build a prison with the stone'Cause you… Read More
2017-02-08 21:10
For Three Word Wednesday, Kristin Hill Taylor brings us the important concept of The Big Picture.Zooming in, zooming out onto a scene with your camera or to assess details on a design projec… Read More
2017-02-04 07:45
Kate Motaung continues to host a weekly five Minute Friday free write on her site; the prompt this time counsels us breathe. My post today is not an unedited five-minute long free write; I w… Read More
2017-02-02 01:10
• Another new month—February! If you're in the northern hemisphere, have you noticed days getting longer? I love the extra daylight that becomes can't-miss-it noticeable a month a… Read More
2017-01-27 06:18
For Five Minute Friday this week we get to consider control.Behind the bread is the flour,behind the flour is the mill,behind the mill is the rain and the sun and the Maker's will.Behind the… Read More
2017-01-26 04:22
Kristin Hill Taylor's Three Word Wednesday implores Let's Get Along! You already know how particularly presidential politics in the USA has divided people...Come July 2017, desert spirit's f… Read More
2017-01-20 05:51
Our FMF host Kate recently started Refine Services, her own business featuring writing, editing and virtual assistance—to help clients refine their own offerings. Read all about it at… Read More
2017-01-18 22:02
For Three Word Wednesday, Kristin Hill Taylor offers a challenging Sanctity of {every} life. Sanctity derives from the Latin word for holy, "sanctus." We consider thrice-holiness – "sa… Read More
2017-01-13 19:13
This week we get to write about middle for our 5 minute flash mob free write. Well... almost a flash mob—it entails a lot of people doing the same thing at the same time, initially at… Read More
2017-01-12 05:45
For her Three Word Wednesday, Kristin Hill Taylor reflects on Truth, goodness & beauty. Inspired by a quote from Andrew Kern on Instagram, "We think to determine three things: whether so… Read More
2017-01-06 05:48
At her welcoming place in cyberspace, Kate gives us connect for our first Five Minute Friday prompt of 2017.Design and theology are two major ways I connect with people in real life and onli… Read More
2017-01-05 06:35
For my first blog of 2017 I'm linking up with Kristin Hill Taylor's almost weekly Three Word Wednesday; as usual I'm writing to her prompt – a predictable and create-able Happy New Yea… Read More
2016-12-31 21:05
Not necessarily most important, most memorable or unforgettable, but a simple selection from each calendar month [partly] chosen for the illustrations.• January: some January experience… Read More
2016-12-28 19:30
Kristin Hill Taylor's Three Word Wednesday features our Things from December, so here's a romp through the month that ends at midnight Saturday with the start of a new calendar year 2017. I'… Read More
2016-12-26 05:30
Thanks to Pastor of Church on the Hill for the basic inspiration.Martin Luther loved the pseudonymous epistle to Titus! Every Christmas Eve we read and [hopefully] hear Titus 2:11-14 that op… Read More
2016-12-24 02:00
Isaiah 9:2-72The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 3You have multiplied the nation, you have… Read More
2016-12-23 06:48
Two more days till Christmas Eve; three more until Nativity Day. On this week's Three Word Wednesday, Kristin Hill Taylor celebrates Happy Birthday, Jesus!Western churches celebrate Happy Bi… Read More
2016-12-22 04:16
This week Five Minute Friday host Kate Motaung has an end of calendar year special Top Blog Posts of 2016 linkup; I love her special cranberry-colored button! Top Posts can refer to those wi… Read More
2016-12-21 10:44
"Due to the Circumstances of my Situation," as I overheard expressed at the NoHo metro transit station... winter solstice [this year on Wednesday 21 December @ 2:44 am Left Coast Time] is th… Read More
2016-12-17 22:30
Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality by J.Brent Bill on Amazon."The Quaker view that all of life, including silence, is sacramental is based in the Bible as well as in Friendly fait… Read More
2016-12-17 18:20
Isaiah 7:10-1610Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lo… Read More
2016-12-17 07:22
Mid-December almost to solstice and Kate hosts our last Five Minute Friday free write of... 2016! Final FMF, but Kate has specials scheduled for the next couple of weeks. This time we get to… Read More
2016-12-11 02:00
Isaiah 35:1-101The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus 2it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory… Read More
2016-12-10 08:16
Again this week, Kate Motaung hosts a Five Minute Friday free write at her welcome place in cyberspace; today brings us Joy! as an amazingly appropriate seasonal prompt.Intro:Two Sundays ago… Read More
2016-12-09 05:30
Like someone who leaves a rural area because no matter what that individual does, there would be no substantial opportunities for them there, I finally pushed myself out of San Diego because… Read More
2016-12-08 06:23
Kristin Hill Taylor brings reflective wisdom and a thoughtful prompt for Three Word Wednesday: Letting Traditions Go. What? But why? Most parents do their best to begin winter, summer, and o… Read More
2016-12-04 02:00
Isaiah 11:1-101A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, th… Read More
2016-12-02 06:04
Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday this week considers crave. If you're new here, someone described FMF as a "writing flash mob," and that's about right, though everyone doesn't write or type… Read More
2016-12-01 03:24
For my November review, I'm joining Kristin Hill Taylor's Things from November Three Word Wednesday, and Emily P. Freeman's Things We Learned this Fall. Yay!Día de los muertes, in Gra… Read More
2016-11-28 03:42
Isaiah 2:1-51The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2In days to come the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and… Read More
2016-11-20 03:17
Kate Motaung hosts today's joy prompt.Maybe you know the first question and answer, possibly more, in the Westminster Shorter Catechism:Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?A. Man's chief end… Read More
2016-11-17 06:05
On her Three Word Wednesday Kristin tells us about a Paper Plate Thanksgiving she celebrated and enjoyed last weekend. Thanksgiving day USA is eight days away; thanks to the church I serend… Read More
2016-11-12 03:30
Three days later, I still cannot contain my anger about the presidential election process, specifically the electoral college. Again the candidate with the most popular votes did not win the… Read More
2016-11-12 00:51
First FMF after the divisive presidential campaign and election in the USA; again this year, because of the outdated electoral college, the candidate with most popular votes did not win. Our… Read More
2016-11-08 21:00
Here's the devotional talk I gave last Thursday for the Green Faith Team meeting.• This week brings a confluence – a literal flowing together as rivers and streams of water do &nd&hell…Read More
2016-11-06 02:37
• A double edition of some of my experiences and a few of my learnings starting September 01. Thanks to Isaac Newton Van Nuys, who didn't quite found the Los Angeles neighborhood where… Read More
2016-11-05 17:05
Back to once-weekly Five Minute Friday free writes again! Today Kate Motaung hosts with a perfect prompt for anyone—Jesus-follower or not. What's the word on the net? Journey."I will f… Read More
2016-11-02 20:10
After finishing a sometimes rocky month of 5 minute free writes, today I'll pick up on Kristin Hill Taylor's What I Am Three Word Wednesday. Kristin is listening, seeing, reading, watching… Read More
2016-11-02 17:45
Kristin Hill Taylor's Three Word Wednesday linkup this week explores how to Live Generously TogetherDue to "internet connectivity" troubles I haven't participated in Three Word Wednesday for… Read More
2016-10-31 20:19
Monday 31 October: wrap-upTaking a final 5 minutes to reflect on my month of October #write31days2016 of blog posts.Unlike some participants, I didn't choose to write to my own theme, though… Read More
2016-10-31 19:35
Monday 31 October: onlyAgain from Carl Sandburg, "Only an ocean of tomorrows, only a sky of tomorrow," except with any apparent only there is never is a lonely, everything always is intercon… Read More
2016-10-31 17:40
5 Minutes about Dates and another RecipeI always default to thinking all the palm trees in southern California must be date palms, but that's only partly true. Date palms were the first vari… Read More
2016-10-31 17:37
Friday 28 October: eat#write31days Fridays continue with Kate Motaung's prompt—eat Come let us eat, for lo, the feast is spread.We've almost concluded Luke's year in the Revised Common… Read More
2016-10-30 08:00
Sunday 30 October: cut"Cut" carries more than a few negative connotation! Cutting remark, cut that out, cutting room floor, didn't make the cut (though sometimes they did make the cut). Sher… Read More
2016-10-29 04:45
Standard, classic, old-fangled and new-fashioned, too. What's not to love about a fresh, unwilted, bouquet or arrangement of flowers almost anywhere? When I lived again on The Other Coast at… Read More
2016-10-27 02:51
Wednesday 26 October: confrontConfront a person or situation; initiate a confrontation; engage in what people perceive as confrontational behavior. As one of those words and attitudes that o… Read More
2016-10-25 14:30
Tuesday 25 October: signSign on the window says lonely.Sign on the door says no company allowed.Sign on the street says you don't own me.Sign on the porch says three's a crowd.Bob DylanAs an… Read More
2016-10-25 01:40
Monday 24 October: globalMy global illustration came from my digitized analog graphic of Romans 12:2 – Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind… Read More
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