The Prayer of Jabez–Oh, that thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldst keep me from evil, that it might not grieve me! (I Chronicles 4:10). The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi–Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where […]
Feb 17, 2020
Of Presidents and Pines
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Happy Presidents Day. This is a good day to reflect on why we have presidents instead of kings, czars, or some other autocratic ruler. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that these men, elected to the highest office in the land, with all the weight of crucial decisions on their shoulders are, first of […]
Feb 3, 2020
The Prayer of Cyrus Brown
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“The proper way for a man to pray,” Said Deacon Lemuel Keyes, “And the only proper attitude Is down upon his knees.” “No, I should say the way to pray,” Said Rev. Doctor Wise, “Is standing straight with outstretched arms And rapt and upturned eyes.” “Oh, no; no, no,” said Elder Slow, “Such posture […]
Jan 4, 2020
The Benefits of Worry
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Every day as I listen to the news, I find a new reason to worry. I think it’s time to re-print a poem by an anonymous author. Worry? Why worry? What can worry do? It never keeps a trouble from overtaking you. It gives you indigestion and sleepless hours at night and fills with […]
Aug 15, 2019
Troubles
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This morning as I look out of my window on the world, I see a quiet neighborhood, a sleepy, just-waking-up neighborhood with shadowy trees newly emerging from night, the dedicated walker striding up the hill, a few people driving to their jobs already, and I’m grateful for normalcy. If I looked beyond the obvious and […]
Apr 16, 2019
The God Who Smoothes Out Tangles
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The picture is of my finished rice sock. The pincushion was given to me by a little sixth grader when I taught in Tulsa. On the bottom, the date is 1965. Can that be true? Really? Yesterday, I tried to do some sewing on my more than fifty-year old sewing machine. I hadn’t used it […]
