You know how to judge the appearance of the sky,but you cannot judge the signs of the times.–Matthew 16:3 The smog is thick, the water murkyEach day moods are shifty Now we wonder if clarity is mythIs consistency a scam Strategic plans fell out of fashion Chaos creeps like cancer Maybe the era of fairnessAged out…
Near the house where I lived as a child, there was a massive oak we called the Firefly Tree. It stood solitary in the middle of a tobacco field, and every summer attracted apocalyptic numbers of fireflies. Even from a distance, the whole tree glowed and pulsed like a disco party. Decades later, and hundreds…
I recently read the famous line from Robert Frost’s poem: “good fences make good neighbors.” I remember my Dad quoting it to me, making a point about the importance of privacy and boundaries for healthy relationships. I always imagined the fences to be waist-high and white-picket, kind of like in the movie Terms of Endearment,…
I have a love-hate relationship with the book of Job. I hate that God lets the devil test Job. I hate that not only Job’s animals but also his children are horribly killed, and it’s somehow okay because God gives him new ones. (If you haven’t had a chance to watch Season 2 of Good…
Moments like this kindle sparks of life in me: pausing meal prep to watch birds gathering on the feeder I hung outside the kitchen window; keeping a field book handy so I can learn their names; discovering that the new birds showing up, those who look both like and unlike cardinals, are not a different…
Season 5, Episode 9 of Messy Jesus Business podcast, hosted by Sister Julia Walsh. “Going barefoot connects me to the Earth, which connects me to the whole.” – Sister Roselyn Heil LISTEN HERE: IN THIS EPISODE: In this episode of Messy Jesus Business podcast, Sister Julia Walsh talks with “Nature Nun” Sister Roselyn Heil about…
Since I began homeschooling my children last year, I’ve felt compelled to raise them as amateur naturalists. We take walks together as a family. I casually acknowledge the lifeforms we pass if I happen to know their names, trying not to intrude too much on our experience by making it sound like a lesson. “Hello…
ash sand air wind flame land repent repent penitents and elements children of God children of earth repent repent skin spit breath bone flesh fire repent repent change convert transform trust humble mortal repent repent these bodies hold histories hopes mysteries every one weak broken all made for union communion penitents and elements children of…
Gazing toward the brightly lit horizon the other day, I noticed an expansiveness, an opening. Beyond what I could see was a mystery. Bigger than the dances of shadows and light, the frozen November snow and the clouds hanging out their hues of pink and gray, was the power of possibility, the rise of potential….
For a year of my life, I lived in Northern California, where the seasons felt all out of order, the rhythm of nature a mess. In the winter, everything was bright and green from the cool rains and in the summer the grasses were golden and dry. Yet, spring bloomed with newness and fall was…
A lifelong friend and I are at the mouth of the cave, about to embark on a guided tour with a naturalist. Along with people we never met before, we’re entering Mystery Cave near Preston, Minnesota. Before this moment several years ago, we had studied the history and geological displays in the nearby welcome center….
No matter what the season, God helps me to find the beauty in the neighborhood in which I live. Perhaps one of my biggest struggles as I develop my spiritual practices and prayer life is staying in the present moment. I find my attention wandering not only during prayer, but during meals and conversations with…
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