This afternoon, I spent a little time out in the yard, adding another strand of lights to one of our palm trees, a small protest against the dreariness of the day. It’s winter solstice, I reminded myself as I worked, the darkest day of the year. Later, after dusk, I stepped outside and into the […]
The Rising Christmas Sun
I wonder what it must have been like, to be staring up at that dark night sky, tired or bored or contemplative or even laughing with companions, and to see that dark night sky suddenly broken open by an angel and the very glory of the Lord. I think about the angel’s call, to not […]
The 10th Annual Summer List
It’s hard to believe this is my tenth annual summer list, but as it’s the first official day of summer, here are my latest thoughts for enjoying summer to the fullest: 1. Adjust or rewrite a life goal or summer list item, because sometimes, you might look up and discover you are flat out wrong, […]
The “There” of Easter
On this day, two thousand years earlier, men and women ran to a tomb and found it empty. Was this any wonder from he who was there from the beginning, from he who was there when dust was made flesh and when manna fell from desert sky and when brothers’ rage became a nation’s salvation […]
Winter Solstice in the Moonlight
Tonight is the winter solstice and thus the longest night of the year. It is the beginning of winter, a season marked by hibernation and cold, by darkness and the absence of growth. The moon is also waning tonight. It will continue to diminish as we move into Christmas, growing smaller and smaller until it […]
Thanksgiving and Rugged Blessings
I went for a run earlier this week that ended up not involving any actual running. While I wasn’t running, I thought about Thanksgiving, and about how life can be filled with strange blessings and rugged beauty that is sometimes most present in the rebuilding of what has been lost. Living by the ocean has […]